Healing Wounds of the Heart
by DrgRcnGrl
Summary: A seventeen year old mutant from the foster care system somehow finds herself invited to go to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She leaps at the chance, but has no clue what she has gotten herself into.
1. Chapter 1

It was just a normal day. That's what I kept telling myself, anyway. Just a normal day in paradise, right? I wish. Unless, of course, you consider five hours worth of chores a day 'paradise'. Then in that case, you're living the dream, my friend.

"Felicity!" Jerry snarled, throwing a wad of newspaper at me. "C'mon, you have to hurry! The Johnsons will be here soon, and I will not have them come in to a dirty house."

In reply, I knew to only nod. Verbal replies were worthless with Jerry. If you said anything back, even just a reply, he would consider it 'talking back' and would backhand you. I'd much rather stay bruise-free for a while, thank you very much.

The glass table squeaked as I wiped a rag along it, covered in Windex glass cleaner. The Windex is good for cleaning glass, yeah, but then you have me using it. With a rag and bare hands. And not to mention cuts on my hands that burned every single time the Windex touched them. No complaining, though. No more bruises.

Upstairs, I could hear somebody moving around. It was either the dog, Soldier, or Gertrude, my foster mother. The foster kid agency did background checks on the to-be foster parents, but they don't do attitude, personality, moral, or ethnic checks. If they did, I would be sent to much nicer homes. These people, the Browns, just use me as a cleaning tool to get money.

After scrubbing the glass table over one more time, I wiped over it smoothly with a dry paper towel before moving to put away the cleaning supplies. The last thing I had to do today before I went to bed was scrubbing the kitchen floor.

That is easily my least favorite chore to do. With how Gertrude, or Trudy if you like, cooks and never cleans up, it is the dirtiest room in the house. No surprise that their bedroom is a close second in that particular race. Their bed is always unmade, which stirs interesting thoughts and conclusions. The floor is covered in empty wrappings, I have no idea how old most of those are, and dirty laundry covers all the other spaces. I don't know how they can sleep in there.

Gertrude walked down the carpet covered stairway, her eyes glaring into the back of my head. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

I frowned. "What you told me to do…?"

"Don't mouth back at me, young lady! I put a roof over your head!"

Yeah, and I clean it, but that doesn't mean I shove that fact in your face every hour. If she didn't hold it over me so often, then I'd be okay, but man. That's just too much. Too often.

"Sorry-"

She scoffed. "Whatever. Scrub the floor, then throw a load of towels in the washer and start it. I'm out of towels in my bathroom."

I did as I was told, and twenty minutes later, I was putting the wet towels into the washing machine. After pressing the start button, I heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" Jerry screamed. His pounding footsteps were loud as he ran to the door and opened it, no doubt a large smile on his face. The smile was probably not the most genuine that was ever given.

What happened after he shook the house with his feet was unknown to me. As soon as I was finished with putting the towels in, I headed upstairs to my bedroom. It was the entire attic, but it wasn't like a finished attic.

Cobwebs were spread around the whole perimeter, and before bed every night I had to search my bed to make sure there were no spiders that were going to sleep with me. Sleeping with spiders is not currently on my bucket list, and it never will be on there. Though if it was, I probably would already have crossed it out. No doubt that I have done it already.

A single dresser was placed in the corner of my room, the top covered in dust. If Jerry or Gertrude would let me bring cleaning supplies up here, then my room would be immaculate. But no, those supplies are for downstairs only. Not me.

Unless I'm using them for their benefit. In that case, it's completely alright to use all the supplies I need, and then some.

Rain pattered against my half-cracked window. The sound was oddly calming to my ears. The rain came and went quickly, on a normal day, but today was different. It stayed, for longer than an hour.

Confused, I took out the old radio and plugged it in. The Weather Service was making some big announcement.

"The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for-"

"Felicity, turn the radio off, dammit!" I heard Jerry scream from downstairs. I believe that the people he was having over for dinner were his bosses. It was obvious how important this dinner was to his career. But it was also dumb how the radio up here will affect on whether or not he gets a fifty cent pay raise.

"Yes, sir!" I called down to him, turning the radio down. Though not completely off. There is nothing better to do up here than listen to people converse on public broadcast. It always feels like the fifties. That's all I can do here.

"- Northern Jasper county in central Virginia-" The radio continued to list of counties in the state. Most of the listed counties were in Central or in North-Central Virginia. Around here, in this small town, we usually don't get rain. It's an odd thing. The towns and cities all around will get poured on, drenched by Mother Nature, but us?

Nada. Nein. Nothing.

As it ended up, I laid down on my bed. The mattress springs creaked as I made shadows appear on my walls, my blinds closed. I pressed my palms together and parted my fingertips, curling some and pressing others apart, till I had made what I was looking for. A dog. A shadow dog.

I smiled softly at the shape. Maybe it's a childish thing to be doing. Making shadows on a wall. But what else is there to do? Listen to the radio? Clean? Maybe eat every once and a while?

Before I knew it, all too soon, I heard Gertrude trodding up to my room. Up the attic ladder.

"Felicity. There are some people here to see you."

That's a new one...


	2. Chapter 2

Somebody, or somebodies, to see me? Now that was a strange idea. I can bet that more than eighty percent of this small town has no idea I exist. Home schooled, never allowed out of the house much. Nobody sees me, besides the few people who decide to come inside this house. Who knew I was here?

After pushing the ladder down, I stepped down and out of the attic only to almost land on my face. Gertrude was standing in the hallway, snickering at me.

"You are such a klutz," she laughed. "It's a wonder how you can clean anything without leaving marks."

Considering that I'm backhanded if I do it wrong, I don't find it much of a shock at all. Though I didn't verbally reply, only with a small nod.

The look she gave me was nothing short of petty and almost braggy. Like she knew that she had total control over me. What I did, where I went, even what I smelled like. It will be such a pleasure to be able to get out of here when I turn eighteen.

Gertrude raised an eyebrow at me before she threw her hand up and started walking away, her usual 'follow me or else' gesture. I complied without question, my bare feet padding against the newly mopped and vacuumed floor. The hallway was hardwood, the living room where we were going was carpeted.

What I saw next surprised me the most.

A man with a short beard, not grey but a dark brown, was sitting on our couch, smoking a cigar. Next to him was a woman with short white hair, olive skin, and pretty eyes. Jerry didn't look too happy that they were sitting there. In our living room.

Gertrude took a seat next to Jerry, almost sitting on his lap. On a normal day, she would have sat on his lap, and he would be kissing her neck to try to get something going. Obviously they weren't going to do that sort of thing, not with company. Jerry's bosses probably already left.

The white haired woman looked at me with a small smile. I didn't understand why her hair was white. She didn't look old, maybe her twenties or thirties, nothing older than that. Her skin was smooth, much better than mine. Bumpy with acne, the average teenage problems.

After a minute of awkward silence between all five of us, the woman spoke. "Are you Felicity Rose?"

Slowly, I nodded. Rose was my middle name, and I chose not to go by my last name. It was not mine to have, and I will not take Jerry and Gertrude's last name. They don't want me to have it either. "Yes, ma'am."

She smiled, as if liking my reply. It was just an answer. And a "ma'am", but isn't that normal to reply with? "My name is Ororo Munroe."

"That's a pretty name," I smiled back at her. It was definitely unique, one I have never heard before. It didn't sound like it was very American, but I can't be the one to talk. My name is more British than anything.

"Thank you," she smiled a little bit brighter. I could somehow sense that she liked me already. I don't know how I could tell, but I just.. Could. A happy vibe, so to speak. "Felicity, we just spoke to your parents-"

"-Foster parents," Gertrude interrupted.

After earning a scowl from the man sitting beside Ororo Munroe, Ororo continued. "- and we have decided that we would love to take you back to our school. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."

"I've never heard of it!" Jerry declared, sounding bored and unamused.

The man aside Ororo gave him a glare. "Never will," he said darkly.

Ororo nudged him with her elbow and murmured, "Be nice." Louder, she said, "This is Logan."

"Last name?" Gertrude laughed, not in a very nice way.

"None of your business," Logan rolled his eyes. He didn't seem to be in a good mood, not very happy to be here.

Jerry huffed in annoyance. "If you are even thinking of taking our daughter-"

"-Foster child," Gertrude corrected.

"- foster child, then you better be givin' us full names!" Jerry finished, wrapping an arm around Gertrude.

Logan raised his eyebrows at them, then shot them a wicked smile before holding up a fist. A soft sound of metal unsheathing hit my ears, and before my eyes, I saw three blades emerge from between his knuckles. No doubt sharp and powerful.

"What did you say, again?" His head tilted, his wicked smile not disappearing.

This man. Something about him. That's something interesting.

Ororo elbowed him once more, rolling her eyes at how he was acting. "Hey. Behave," she muttered to him, hardly loud enough for me to hear it, but I could make out her words. Lip reading.

Logan didn't retract the knuckle blades, keeping them out and looking them over with his eyebrows slightly lifted, intrigued by them.

Jerry sighed loudly, over emphasizing the sound, and leaned back against the couch after giving Gertrude a nice kiss on the cheek. "Look. We ain't handing our foster daughter over to you people. We don't know what kind of thing you'd be havin' her do!"

Oh like he would even care. The man can barely remember my middle name.

Gertrude paused before nodding, agreeing with him. "Yeah, we don't know you people."

"And if the foster care agency knew about you two, she wouldn't be here," Ororo said in a slightly amused tone. "I hear you never let her out of the house."

Wait a second. How would they know that?

Jerry gaped at her. "How do you know that?" At least we have the same thought pattern.

"Lucky guess," Logan snickered, finally sliding his blades back into place. Inside his skin. That has to hurt.

I could feel goosebumps appear on my skin as I watched him put the metal back into his body. He didn't have to push them in, but I knew they went in voluntarily. It has to hurt. Human skin shouldn't have to bare that sort of pressure and pain.

He gave me an odd look, raising one eyebrow, but I didn't look back at him. No eye contact. I hardly made eye contact with Ororo either. Making eye contact is never a good thing for me. If I do, it almost breaks me. It makes me feel weird inside, especially with Jerry and Gertrude. Almost never in a good way.

"Lucky guess?" Jerry said mockingly. "You have no proof-!"

Ororo held a hand up, silencing him. "We do have proof, but we won't bring it up. We only ask that Felicity comes with us to Xavier's School. There, she will live and be cared for, as well as learn life skills."

That may or may not come in handy. The life skills. I never imagined actually having a life outside of cleaning homes of my foster families, but stranger things have happened to people. Not me, but it has happened. In books, mostly, though it's rare that I get my hands on some paperback that is readable.

Gertrude snorted, but said nothing.

Jerry, on the other hand, had plenty to say. "Cared for?! She is cared for here! Look at her! Clothes on her back, food in her stomach, a roof over her head-!"

"But that's not really caring for," Ororo interrupted, standing up. "That's barely housing. Caring is something different. Involves love and comfort and-"

"We give her that!" Gertrude cried out, throwing her hands up. This was making her blood pressure rise, I could almost feel it. "We give her all of that! And more!"

Ororo, I noticed, never raised her voice. She stayed with a calm demeanor, something I rarely saw in men and women that came in this house. "You have no proof that you do."

"And you have no proof that we don't!"

"Hey Kid," Logan nodded towards me. All eyes turned to me. "Do they love you?"

No. No no no, do not put me in the limelight like this. Do not. They will- "Do t-they…?" I whispered. It scared me. If I said one thing wrong, then they would kick me out.

Then again, being kicked out at this point is not the worst thing they could do to me.

"Yeah. Do they love you?"

"... No."

Logan smiled and pointed at me. "See? I think we just solved our problem."

Ororo walked over to me with a small smile. "Felicity. Would you like to go with us?"

It took me a minute to think, though I know it shouldn't have. I didn't know these people, but they seemed nice. Ororo did, anyway. Logan might be a little iffy.

Nice people. They promise me a nice room to stay in, food, a roof over my head. Possibly even clothing. That's something I probably would need that I most certainly do not get here.

After that long minute of thinking over, I smiled and nodded. "I would. Definitely."

The idea of getting away from them was internally satisfying, more so than I thought it could be. An idea being satisfying. It sounds crazy, to some people, but to me, it just sounds amazing.

I have never been on an airplane, let alone a 'high-class' jet aircraft, so this was very new to me. It was plenty big in size, especially since there were only three people to travel on it. Ororo, the woman that had first talked to my foster parents, Logan, and myself. To know that these people, who didn't know me, went to this great of lengths to get me out of there and somewhere else made me feel so grateful.

Carefully, I sat my backpack down on a seat and buckled it in, just to be safe. Ororo looked over at me with a small smile, and Logan just rolled his eyes. "It won't fall out, Kid."

Gazing over at him, I frowned. Did he expect me to know that? This was a jet, after all, and from hearing them fly over the house, I just expected that the ride would be very jolting. "Alright…" But I didn't move to unbuckle my bag. I wanted to be sure that was going to be safe the whole ride.

Ororo hit Logan on the shoulder lightly, and murmured something to him. Too far away to her, I was, so I just took a seat and buckled up. Logan tossed me a headset, gesturing for me to put them on. I quickly did as told, and that was when Ororo flipped a few switches on the panel.

"Hang on tight," she said through the headset. We were all wearing them.

My knuckles gripped at the handlebars hooked to both sides of my seat. Before I knew it, my back hit against the backside of my seat hard. I looked up to see how Logan and Ororo reacted. Both looked completely normal, like they were used to this hard jolt. It didn't really shock me. They obviously knew what they were doing.


	3. Chapter 3

I could feel my eyes widen as I looked around. This school was huge. Much bigger than any place I had ever been in, and definitely the most filled one as well. There were long hallways, with dark wood floors and rugs that made the hallways seem much longer than they actually were. Teenagers, most of them around my age or younger, walked around us and into rooms. Dorms, I thought, or even classrooms.

Ororo gave me a gentle look. "Bigger than you expected, Felicity?" It was almost like she knew what I was thinking. Or was my face that obvious?

Nodding, I looked around more, finally my eyes met her face. "Much bigger than I expected…" Schools weren't usually this big, were they? And from the outside, this doesn't look much like a school. More like a very nice sized mansion of some sort.

She laughed, keeping an arm around my shoulders as we walked the long hallways. She didn't say much more to me, allowing me to explore the place with my eyes. Finally, she led me into an office. A man in a wheelchair sat at a desk, looking up at us.

"Ah," he said, rolling out from under the desk. He pushed the wheels with his hands, rolling towards us and actually right in front of me. "You must be Felicity Rose."

He knows my name. Must be the headmaster. "That's me," I said softly, smiling down at him. It wasn't really a forced smile. I was happy to be here, out of that horrid house. Thankful to anybody who had something to do with me being here.

He chuckled, holding out a hand. "No need to thank us, dear."

What…? He… What?

I shook his hand, tilting my head in complete confusion. "What do you mean?"

A smile reached his lips once more. "I said 'No need to thank us'. It is our pleasure to have yet another student roam our halls."

"But… I didn't thank you…" My, that must of sounded very rude. Nice first impression, Lissie.

He flat out laughed at what I said. Must have been what I said. "Yes, you'll be a nice addition to the school, Miss Rose."

I laughed, a bit awkward, and also a bit forced. This man is already confusing me. "What..? I'm confused, sir…"

"I'm a telepath, Felicity."

That explains a lot. But… No privacy… So it'll be just like back at home. That's not so bad.

He smiled. "Always the optimist…"

Ororo, or as most of them called her Storm around here, let me into a different hallway. She used a key to open the door to my new room. Inside, there was a twin sized bed, a nice wood dresser, a heater, and a large window. Lots of natural lighting in that room.

I set my bag gently on my bed, stepping over to look out the window. Out the window was a beautiful view of some sort of garden. There were flowers, a fountain, benches. It looked so beautiful…

Storm stood beside me, following my gaze. "You like the garden?"

I nodded. "Yeah… I like flowers."

"That makes sense. Felicity Rose."

Chuckling, I nodded again. "Mm… A lot of people say that, you know?" Not a total lie. Three people have said that to me in the past year. That's a lot, considering I never used to see people very often.

"It doesn't surprise me."

I hummed. "Yeah… So, what's your power?" I asked curiously. Was she a telepath, like that man was? The Professor?

Storm smiled. "Can you guess by my name?"

"Storm…. You can create storms?" I guessed. Maybe this was all just a huge blonde moment for me.

She laughed, a nice sound. "Kind of. I can control the weather. Storms included."

"Oh," I nodded in my understanding. That made sense. "But why Storm specifically? Why not…. Sunny, or something?"

This time, she shrugged. "When the professor first found me, I was an orphan on the streets in New York. I wasn't happy, so it was always raining. Thunder. Lightning. All except for what was around me. The Eye of the Storm is what he called me, but then he shortened it to just Storm. The name stuck, I guess."

That does make me wonder. Her story is probably not unheard of around here. Maybe my past isn't so different from everybody else's after all. Maybe I'm just like they all are, with the troubled past and the now brighter looking future. This school could change my life for the better. It already has.

The mess hall was more crowded than I had expected for the breakfast hour. It was seven in the morning, and yet all of the tables were filled with students. The smell of the room itself was almost sickening. So many different smells put together. Bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, burnt toast, regular toast, eggs, blueberries, and much more. All of that filled my nose, almost making me gag.

After a minute of looking around, I grabbed a tray before getting in line. There were so many students here. The line was long, but thankfully moved fast. Before I knew it, I was starting to have a choice in what to eat.

In less than five minutes, I had a good amount of food on my tray, and a small bottle of juice to go with it instead of milk. My eyes traveled around the room to find a place for me to sit. I didn't know anybody here. Storm and the rest of the teachers were all sitting together, but if I sat with them, I would instantly be labeled as some teacher's pet. Is that a bad thing?

Storm finally caught my eye and waved at me. "Felicity, you want to sit with us?"

A few students heard her voice and looked over. For the first time, they saw me. First impressions were never a good thing with me. I somehow always messed up. But they looked at me, then just turned away. No looks of disgust.

I'm off to a great start here.

After making my way over to Storm and the teachers, I sat down, placing my tray in front of me. Storm frowned, but didn't comment. Maybe she didn't like what was on my tray.

As I started eating, slowly to savor all that I had, the teachers started conversing among themselves. For a few moments, I just sat and listened, eating, but then the conversations started to get a bit boring. At least now, I knew what their names were.

Scott was the man with the glasses. The shades had a reddish-brown tint to them, and to tell you the truth, they looked unique. He didn't look too old, maybe in his twenties or thirties. He had one of those faces that you couldn't tell.

Sitting across from him, with nobody sitting next to him, was Logan. The man that had helped get me here. I did have my doubts about him, though. He kept to himself, unless his opinion seemed bold enough to share. Which was often, in this case. He ate like some animal, and it all didn't seem to go anywhere. He was pure muscle, only restrained by the clothing he wore.

They seem to be the only teachers. There are less than a hundred students here, so it isn't too unrealistic. The Professor probably does a bit of teaching as well, maybe some one-on-one training.

Storm, after a good few minutes, brought me into the conversation. "So, Felicity, what are you looking forward to the most here?"

What an open question. So many possibilities. "Oh. Um… It's… I'm not sure, actually." Probably the wrong answer. "I like that I have a nice bed, I guess." What a dumb thing to say. How stupid am I? Extremely.

Scott snickered. "Really? That's what you're happiest about, being here?"

"Scott, be nice," Storm said softly, looking over at him. Though her eyes didn't match her tone. More like a 'back off now' to her eyes, instead of the gentle of her tone.

He put his hands up in the air, like an 'I surrender' motion. "Fine, fine."

"You sayin' you didn't have a bed, where you used to live?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow at me questioningly.

I shrugged. "I guess you could call it a bed… But I like this bed much better. I got a very nice sleep on this bed." Talking about beds. Not exactly how I pictured my first day at this school, but it was a start, for sure.

"What'd you sleep on?"

"A thirty or something year old mattress. The springs hurt."

Storm frowned, obviously not liking my old living conditions. "They had you sleep on a mattress that old?"

"Well, yeah," I nodded. "They liked to keep the money to themselves. I was lucky to get clothes, most of the time."

"Really?"

"Really."

Why did they sound so shocked? It could have been worse.


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay, are you ready to begin?"

"If I say no, will we begin anyway?"

"Obviously."

"Then yes. I'm ready to begin."

The Professor laughed as he took out a piece of paper from a desk drawer. The paper had a picture of me in the top left hand corner, and then a lot of words at the bottom. It was only logical to assume that it was my report. My file. Something of that sort.

He read over the paper before sliding it over to me. "Today, we'll just be talking. Does that sound alright with you?"

I nodded. Even if I said no, I thought, he'd make us talk. Or communicate through thoughts or something. "What will we talk about?"

"Even though I'm well aware of your past, I make a point to learn it exactly from the student's perspective. All that they see fit to tell me," he explained, folding his hands on the top of the desk. "It is a way to connect with each student individually, in a way they believe is comfortable."

Fair enough. I only tell him what I want to tell him. But because he is a mind reader, what exactly do I have to hide? He knows everything already. Might as well verbally spill all those beans right now. "Where do you want me to start...?"

He smiled. "Wherever you want."

Of course he gives me an option. For the first time in my life, I have a choice of what to do. Where to begin, where to tell all. But how do I begin?

I took a deep breath. this would not be a short session. "I'll just start in the beginning, I guess..." Nothing to hide, Felicity. Nothing. To. Hide. "When I was a baby, I got deathly sick. My parents were young, and weren't wealthy. In order to get me the care that I needed, they decided to give me up for adoption. After I got treated, and a little bit better, nobody wanted to adopt me. I wasn't exactly the cutest baby ever."

"I would have to disagree. But go on."

"Right... Anyway, I was put on the foster care route. It was not the happiest point ever. The families barely fed me and didn't care for me that thoroughly, so I was always stinky and dirty. After a few months of one family, they'd pass me along to another. I felt like a potato in that 'Hot Potato' game."

That made him chuckle. Nice to know somebody found my past funny, or at least the way I explained it.

"When I was old enough to talk and do things, the families I went to took advantage of it. I did all sorts of chores, and even babysitting. I could care for an infant at age eight, and cook full meals. It was not the glory life."

I smiled. The good part of my life. "When I was ten, I finally found a home I thought I'd be in forever. The couple wasn't young, but they weren't old old. Mid forties. The man owned this motorcycle shop, and the wife was a hairstylist. Every night, the man would take me out to the garage and teach me all about the bikes... After a few months with them, they brought up adoption. I got really excited. I was finally going to belong somewhere. One day, when I was at school, I got called to the principal's office. They got in a car accident. Fatal."

Do not cry, Felicity. This could be worse. I've had it good. Better than most. It's nothing to cry over. Do not cry in front of him. You're stronger than this.

"I was put right back on the list of foster kids. I spent a good amount of time with the other kids in the foster house, but then a couple decided to take me in. 'Give it a trial run', they called it. And those people were Gertrude and Jerry, the man and woman that had me last. They were by far the worst."

The Professor sucked in a breath. I didn't understand why. He already knew what had happened. It was no different out loud than it was by reading my mind, my thoughts, my memories.

He interrupted my thoughts. Ha. "I'm surprised that... You have that mindset."

I frowned. "What mindset?"

"You believe that you had it good. That it could have been worse. You don't sulk like most children would. Why is that?" he asked.

Because I didn't have it the worst. Because I saw it be worse for others. I'm here, aren't I? "I had it good compared to the others. To some of my old friends back at the foster house. They had it rougher than rough," I said.

He raised his eyebrows. "One more thing that I noticed..."

"Hm?"

"You never mentioned your power. Using it."

Oh that... "I don't feel comfortable... Trying to explain it... I hardly know what it is or how to use it."

He smiled softly, one of the first smiles in this entire session. "Would you like to know what you can do?"

"Yes." Obviously.

He paused, thinking up a way to explain, I would guess. "This is what I believe. You have the power to control organic cells. That is a large range. Any organic cells. Plants, humans, animals-"

"Humans are animals," I butted in.

He laughed. "True enough. But any organic matter or cell, you can easily mutate and reshape and control."

That's... Cool? Sure. Could have been a bit better, or easier. Or less powerful. I don't need power. I don't need a power. But if it's what got me here, out of that house, I'm grateful for that. "Any organic cell or matter? Did that have something to do with-"

"Your illness as an infant. Your body was, in some technological term, malfunctioning. You didn't know what you were doing. In a way, you were accidentally harming yourself," he explained slowly. "And all illnesses after. Your body would go on overdrive and you'd exhaust yourself after healing from something."

"Right. So I can control organic cells, but I can't get this dang acne off my face?"

He laughed. It was a nice laugh. What is it with all the nice laughs around here? All I have is a stupid snort and the dumbest giggle ever. "You'll fit right in here."

I smiled. "Good. I don't plan on leaving."


	5. Chapter 5

That nice little chat with the Professor helped ease me into this. Now, I knew what my power was. Not what it could do, that would come later, he told me. My classes would be decided tomorrow based on what I can do so far. In other words, I'll have to start at the bottom. I have no idea how to use my powers.

I walked back to my room after the conversation. After unlocking the door, I slid it open and walked inside. I didn't bother to lock the door again as I sat down on my bed, looking out the window.

My power could control organic cells. That includes cells inside me, doesn't it? Would that mean that I can control what every cell in my body does? It sounds strange, really. It seems like a person can already control what their body does, but not to that full extent.

With that power, so much could be done. Now that I thought about it, it almost scared me. So much power. I could really mess something up with that. I could accidentally hurt somebody. I could accidentally hurt myself. Do I really want this? I didn't ask to have this.

All those thoughts in my head made my head hurt. Headaches are common for me after thinking too hard for too long. Deciding to ease my mind, I walked out of my room, again not bothering to lock it. There's nothing to steal. Nothing that's really worth stealing.

I made my way down to the gardens. As I walked out the door, I was instantly hit with the smell of sweet flowers. It was an amazing smell, really.

Not many students were free at this time of day. Most were in classes. The more advanced students, late teenagers only, went to danger room sessions at this time. The Professor didn't go with them, but I know Storm did. She only taught that class in mornings. The Professor had told me that once I know and learn to use my power, I'll join those sessions.

This school really is amazing.

As I walked in the garden, I found that even though it was fall, there were all types of flowers growing. Lillis. Roses. Daffodils. Not a single weed in sight. It was remarkable.

I felt like something bad would happen if I touched something, so I sat on a wood bench near a flower bed of lilies.

There was a light breeze that shifted the flowers. One of the lilies lost a petal in that breeze. Sad. Maybe... Just maybe...

I stood up. The lily was in the front. I cupped my hand around it. How does this work? Does it just... Happen?

I removed my hand. Nothing.

Signing, I stepped back.

"You won't do it that way."

I quickly turned around. It was Logan. Wolverine. What was he doing here? I placed my hands on my hips. "How do you suppose I do it...?"

He hummed. "It doesn't just happen. You have to will it to happen. Focus. Concentrate."

"How?"

"Everybody is different. Your mutation is one of a kind. You'll have to find out for yourself." With that, he turned and walked off.

I'll have to find out for myself. That sounds like it'll end up taking a while. Well, it's not like I have much else planned today.

Carefully, I cupped my fingers around the lily. I closed my eyes. Heal. It can heal. Just regrow the cells needed from the others. It can heal. Heal...

My fingers tingled. I lifted my hand up. The lily looked...

Good as new.

I felt a hand be placed on my shoulder. "Good job, Kid." Then, the hand went away. He hadn't left.


	6. Chapter 6

I was the new girl in class now. The girl that has to make a good first impression, or else it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Or the next week or so. I'll go with the latter. After all, this is high school.

"Alright class, let's get started, hm?" The Professor wheeled himself to the front of the room, right next to a television screen. It was one of those newer flatscreens. How they get the money, I'll never know. "Here, you see an equation. Who can tell me what this equation means?"

Instantly, a boy next to me raised his hand. He seemed very impatient, waving his hand in the air, wanting the Professor to notice him. Sadly, that didn't happen.

"Kitty?"

"It's the equation of two parents' chromosomes that result in the X gene," the girl, maybe a bit younger than me, answered. This girl seemed like she knew fully what she was talking about.

An X gene. What exactly is that?

The Professor, as soon as that thought hit my mind, looked over at me. "Felicity?"

I looked up at him. "Yes?" I tilted my head. Wait...

"Do you have a question?"

"... Oh! Um, yes. What is the X gene...?"

The class broke out into snickers. Was it stupid that I didn't know what the X gene was? It sounded like I should know it. They can't exactly expect me to know things that you only learn at this school. Or even school in general.

"The X gene is the genetic mutation that allows a human to have a mutation. In your case, your ability to mutate organic cells and organic matter into whatever you please," he explained in a very calm, gentle tone. "That single gene in your chromosomes allows you to have that specific mutation."

Oh. So that's what the infamous X gene is. That makes sense.

"Now, who can tell me if there is another equation for finding the X gene in a single person's genetic makeup?" the Professor questioned, looking around.

With this class, there was no hiding. He could hear your thoughts. If you had a question, he called on your before you could even raise your hand. If you knew the right answer, he would call on your, still without you having to raise your hand. Even if you had the wrong answer, he'd call on you, just to help you find the real answer yourself. He thought that made you learn it and remember it more.

A girl with a white stripe through the front of her hair raised her hand. "It's not the only equation for the X gene," she said after he called on her. "Isn't there another equation, one that is unknown?"

"If it is unknown, Rogue, then how come we know it is unknown?" a guy next to her laughed.

The Professor shook his head. "It is unknown the specific equation and variables, but there is more than one equation to make up the X gene, Bobby."

"Oh..." he said softly. Bobby.

Rogue smiled, happy to have answered that question correctly.

I frowned. "How come you know there's another equation, or equations, that make up the X gene mutation, but you don't know the equations?"

The Professor sighed. "We have attempted to look into it, but we have not had any luck as of yet. There is one man who is currently working to end our confusion, but he is busy with the United States government right now."

"I have another question," I said slowly.

"Oh?"

"How can you tell the difference between a mutant with the X gene from that equation-" I pointed to the television screen. "- and a mutant that comes from a totally different equation with the same result?"

He smiled. "Well, I am glad you asked, Felicity. Did you all hear Felicity's question?"

Everybody nodded or murmured some form of 'yes'.

"A mutant that comes from that specific equation, the one you see on the television, is coming from a home, or merely conceived by, two parents who are not of the X gene, but compatible with it. Mutants that are coming from equations other than that one are often times more powerful, their capabilities practically limitless. We don't know of the specifics yet, but I believe it has to do with the past bloodline."

That makes a bit of sense... "A powerful mutant with almost limitless power comes from other equations? How can you tell, though? Outwardly?"

"That, Felicity, is a mystery that we have yet to solve."


	7. Chapter 7

*Two Months Later*

"What? But Professor, I'm not ready, I don't think-"

"You don't believe in yourself. You can do it. I have faith in you."

"Faith has nothing to do with the fact that I can't-"

"Felicity, whether or not you like it, this is required. And because you are more than ready, you have to start sessions. It's required of all students at your age."

"It's required? But I thought you said that if I wasn't ready, I didn't have to!" I protested, breathless from endless denies. "A month ago, you said specifically that I didn't have to attend any danger room sessions until I feel ready!"

He chuckled. "You are ready. You know it, too, you're just afraid that you will end up messing up and making a fool of yourself. Because this is you, I know that you will not. Just try your best. You better hurry, the session you are signed up for starts soon."

I sighed. "Fine. If I mess up, then all the blame falls on you."

He smiled. "And if you do well?"

"I take the glory."

"Of course."

I gave him a small smile before grabbing my bag, quickly making my way to the elevator. I haven't been downstairs very often, even though I've been at this school for two months already. It was a place only the teachers went, the Professor, and students wishing to participate in Danger Room sessions.

I guess the point of the Danger Room sessions were to stimulate on field action with your powers, without all of the real factors. You could get hurt in there, but death wasn't likely. Not like it would be in the real world.

As I waited in the elevator, I thought to myself quietly. Even now, I can barely control my power. I can heal easily, but it drains me. If someone gets hurt, that's basically all that I can do. Heal them. It's the main point of my power.

When I walked out of the elevator, I saw a group of students in front of the Danger Room metal door. Bobby was there, next to Rogue, and Kitty as well. That one guy who can turn his skin to metal to shield himself was also there, but I can never remember his name. All I know is that Logan likes to call him 'Tin Man'.

"Alright. Scott is busy today, so it'll be Logan and I leading this class," I heard Storm say as I walked to the group. "In a few minutes, the session will begin. In this session, the point is to get past all of the obstacles without getting caught by the guard light in the sky. It flies over the field, so be careful to not be in the light. You'll get it once you get in there. Any questions?"

"What kind of obstacles are there?" Bobby asked, looking at Storm with a tilted head.

Storm thought for a moment. "A mountain, a river, a few barbed wire fences, and the others are unclear."

Bobby nodded. "Alright."

Barbed wire fences. They hurt, but could be worse. Mountains might be a challenge for me, but I think I can manage. River? I can't swim. That could be an issue.

A loud beep came from the speaker above the metal door leading to the Danger Room. It had a more specific name, but we all just called it the Danger Room. Storm entered in a PIN code, and right after, the door slid open.

The air was thick, almost like smog in some sort of loud city. It was terrible to breathe in. The one person I knew that wouldn't mind it too much was Logan. He smokes, so this should be a piece of cake for him.

Storm looked up to the sky. It wasn't hard to see a beam of light coming from a corner of the stimulation. It was like a spotlight, only more intense. "There's the light. We need to get moving."

Rogue and Bobby, of course, teamed up with each other. It didn't surprise anybody. They've been a known 'thing' for at least since I've been here. It's a bit sad, though. Rogue's power is that she drains the power of mutants as she touches their skin to her own. That means no hand holding or touching for her and Bobby.

That would ruin a relationship, I would think. For me, it would.

"Felicity, come on! Stop daydreaming!" Storm shouted. Everybody was running towards some large rock cliff.

Quickly, I ran over to where they were. As I reached the rock face, I paused. It was hot in here, so my hands were already sweating. My grip would falter-

Logan grunted, already climbing up the rock. "Felicity! Climb, now!"

Looking behind me, I found that I was the last one on the ground. I sighed softly before gripping the rock, attempting to lift myself onto it. It was hard. No muscle mass doesn't really help in this sort of situation.

My hand slipped. I fell back onto the ground, right on my butt. "Great…"

"Felicity, come on, you have to climb!" Storm shouted impatiently from the top of the cliff. She and most of the other students already were on top.

"I can't!"

"Kid, you just have to try!" Logan rolled his eyes. Even from down here, I could see that. Was I really that annoying? It's not my fault I don't have any muscle to help myself up!

"I! Can't! Climb!"

"Try!"

Groaning, I gripped at a rock again and started my attempt to climb up. My arms ached. What's the point in these dumb Danger Room sessions, make fun of the people like me who can't lift their own body weight?

By halfway up the rock face, I could feel the beads of sweat that covered my forehead edging towards my eyes. Sweat in the eyes sting, so I quickly shook my head to get them out of the way. Even with that, a drop of sweat hit my eyes. I had to close them in order to keep going.

I felt a hand reach mine and help lift me up. "See? Not so bad, Kid." Logan.

After giving him a small smile, I got to my feet and brushed my hands together. The hand that he had touched felt a bit weird. That was probably his grip. He surely had muscles.

"Let's keep moving!"

Only minutes later, we came across an open field. There were some metal drones, rusted on the outside, but with good aim even still. The drones had one red light each on the front of their bodies, and two guns at their sides.

A drone rolled over to me, not a smooth ride. I squeaked in surprise and jumped back, trying to stay out of range of the guns. It didn't seem to see me, so it rolled off in another direction.

"Felicity, go help Trevor," Storm said in a loud voice. I looked over to see the boy, Trevor, on the ground. He had a large gash on his leg.

Making my way over to the boy quickly, I knelt down. "Hey…"

"H-Hi… Haven't seen you i-in here…." he mumbled, sounding dazed.

I shook my head. "I'm not here often." I moved my hand over his leg, inches above it. My power started to take control, moving his skin cells around to heal the wound from the outside-in. "Don't move for a few seconds."

"K-Kay…" He nodded.

There were a few drops of blood on his leg that I quickly wiped off with my hand, then rubbed my hand on my jeans. The blood evaporated as they hit my jeans, a special trick I learned.

A minute later, there was a larger drone in front of us. My eyes scanned it for any sign of organic material. None.

Great.

Trevor looked up at the drone, then his eyes turned red. It took me a second to realize what he was doing. He puckered his lips and spat in the drone's face. Acid spit was his mutation.

That also proves to be a problem with kissing, I would guess.

The drone started to spark as the acid ate away its armor. In mere seconds, the drone rusted away. The acid ate away most of the metal, and rusted the other parts.

"Good job," I complimented him as I got to my feet. He stood up, then started to run at another drone.

The Danger Room session ended with a loud bang. I ended up trying to heal Rogue. Big mistake on my part. After healing her/having her take my power for a few seconds, I wandered around feeling all whoozy.

Let's just say that I learned my lesson.

"So, how did you do, Felicity?"

"I did okay."

"See? I told you you'd do fine."

"... Shush."

The Professor only smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

All together, there are about ten other students that have a power similar to mine. Some sort of power to heal, whether it be plants or humans or animals, or all of the above. So many students that the Professor decided to have a specific class designed specifically for us, that we go to twice a week.

"Alright, class, let's get started! John, stop talking," Professor Logan ordered, his voice stern. He was a good professor, but sometimes it was like he didn't really understand the teenagers very well. It sounds weird when you say that out loud, being that I am myself a teenager. "Today, we'll be working on a few packets, but first let's have a discussion."

The discussion started out like any normal discussion would. He asked a question, and we had a debate on the best way to fix the issue. It was a problem having to deal with a hurt human.

It started like this. "If on the street, you find a human with no mutation that broke their leg, what should you do?"

A girl with bright red hair raised her hand. When she was called on, she replied, "Call the emergency hotline for their support. If they find out somebody has powers, they could try to get the mutant in custody."

"Yes, but is that worth somebody being in pain for a longer period of time?"

"It is, because in that case, both people will be safe."

"You don't know that for sure. The EMTs could easily make a mistake."

"But they won't."

"How do you know that?"

"You don't," I interrupted softly. They both turned to face me, so I knew they had heard what I said. "If you yourself don't heal the person, they are less likely to get better. If their leg is broken, then they're likely not at the side of the road. More likely with somebody. Now, if they had some sort of heart attack or… Seizure," I continued, thinking," then I'd feel more comfortable healing them myself."

The class went silent.

I sank back in my chair. "But that's just me…"

Logan was silent for a good few moments, then shot me one of his rare smiles. "Good way of thinking, Felicity."

His compliments didn't come often. I was sure I wouldn't take it for granted.

"Now, speaking of healing people in dire need," he said in a louder tone. "Earlier today, Felcitiy was in her first danger room session. She healed a total of seven people, but one of them almost refused to be healed. Felicity, who was it?"

"Uh," I breathed in, thinking, trying to remember. "... Rogue, I think."

He nodded. "Rogue. Her power is the ability to drain another mutant of their power, or in a human, suck the life out of them. Rogue argued to Felicity about getting help for her sprained ankle, but Felicity didn't pay any attention and healed her."

The same girl from before laughed. "If someone doesn't want to be healed, then why heal them? It's probably for good reason."

"I'd rather her be completely okay," I butted in. "If I would have left her like that, she would have not been able to complete the session."

"Yet you risked your own safety for hers?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes. Yes, I did."

The girl rolled her eyes, turning away. She didn't want to look at me. Most likely frusterated.

"What are a few blunders that Felicity made?" Logan asked the entire class loudly. It made me uncomfortable that he was basing his lesson on me.

A boy raised his hand. "Rogue could have drained her powers to heal herself faster, but it also doesn't do well to Felicity. By the way, Felicity, what did it do to you?"

It took me a second to process his question. What did Rogue's power do to me. "It… Made me a bit dizzy. I stumbled around a little."

Logan chuckled. "Kinda funny to watch, but was that a mistake? In all, was healing Rogue a mistake for Felicity?"

Half the class answered 'yes', but the other half answered 'no'.

I raised my hand. Time for my opinion. "It was not a mistake. If I would have left her, she would have not been able to complete the session. With me healing her, even with her draining me, we both managed to finish the Danger Room session."

At my response, I swore Logan gave me a wink.

But that's not very likely.


	9. Chapter 9

The Professor often came to see me after all my schoolwork was done. It usually ended in us taking a walk together through the gardens, with him rolling along beside me. Our talks start in just school talk, all my classes and current grades, but always end up taking a strange turn to talk about my powers.

"How have you been doing, Felicity?" he asked me casually, stopping to take a look at some beautiful lilacs. They were in full bloom, only because a girl of age thirteen had the power of plants, as we all called it.

I shrugged, sitting down on the short brick wall that separated the pathway from the flowerbeds. "I've been alright. Danger Room sessions always seem to get my blood going, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."

He chuckled. "That depends on if it's because you are nervous or excited."

Humming, I replied, "I'm not even sure which one of that it is." I go to three sessions in the Danger Room a week. It's the highest number you can take on a weekly basis for my age. In fact, of all the students, I'm the one who goes the most often. It's usually Storm and Scott that go with my sessions for the advanced group, but if Scott is having a hard time, they'll send Logan in instead. The loss of Jean Grey, a mutant that Scott had been romantically involved with, took a supposedly hard toll on Scott.

The Professor gently plucked a small stem of lilacs and pulled it close to his face, sniffing it very sensually. "I see… And how have your other classes been coming along?"

"They've been going great. I'm doing better in mathematics and physics, and the healing class that Professor Logan teaches is going great."

"Oh? That's good."

It sometimes confuses me why he goes on walks like this. He doesn't do it to many other students, at least not that I've noticed. Not even to Rogue, who is one of the more 'popular' students, or Kitty.

*November*

I feel like it's a total cliche. My life is a total cliche, and I know it. My life right now is full of cliche things and I know it, yet I don't even care.

"Hey, Felicity?" Rogue grinned over at me. "You wanna build a snowman?"

Here we go again. The movie Frozen has overrun the entire school. The halls are always filled with somebody singing 'Let It Go' or 'Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?', and sadly, I'll have to admit to doing the exact same thing.

Frozen is a good movie. Okay, I'll admit to that as well. It does have a lot of meaning to it, and family love, and unexpected romance. Elsa probably means a lot to all of my fellow mutants because we all know how that feels.

Elsa has powers. Us mutants have powers. Elsa feels forced to hide herself from the world, to conceal what she has to offer. We all feel the exact same way, or at least at one point, we did. Even the guys know how that feels.

"Felicity! Do you wanna build a snowman?!"

"Nah, I'm good," I laughed, shaking my head. Snow outside was barely even falling anymore, and it was beyond cold. Welcome to Novembers in New York.

Bobby looked over at Rogue with an unamused look. "You're a bit of a fixer-upper, Rogue."

"Gee, thanks, Bobby."

"The way to fix up this fixer-upper is to fix her up with you, Bobby!" I snickered at Bobby, giving him a pat on the back as I passed by him.

"Throw a little love their way, and you'll bring out their best!" Kitty sang terribly off tune over at us.

"Alright, enough with the cheesy Frozen references," Storm rolled her eyes, but with the smile on her face, I could tell she thought it was at least a little bit funny.

Giving Storm a sly smile, because it was all my fault that everybody loves that movie so much, I walked out of the recreational room and into the main student dormitory hallway.

I got my key out to get into my room, unlocked my door, and got inside. After setting down on my bed with a nice book, one of the J.D. Robb ones that Storm leant me. A few minutes after I started reading, there was a knock at my door.

Who could that be?

Setting down my book on my bed with a bookmark, I got up and opened the door. Right in front of me was a fully dressed, in snow gear-

Logan.

Logan looked down at me, crossing his arms. "Felicity, do you want to build a snowman?"

"W-... What?"

"Do you want to build a snowman?" He asked again, this time a smile almost slipping onto his lips.

Was… Was he really asking me to build a snowman? What?

Of all the cliches in the world, this man decides to pull this one.

So why not?

I smiled, nodding. "Of course! Just let me to get some stuff on, alright?"

Logan only nodded, leaning against my doorframe as I quickly got dressed in a pair of spare snow gear that Rogue had. I pulled on a pair of thick boots that were supposedly waterproof, then a coat.

As I walked out into the hallway, Logan shut the door behind me. He was fully dressed in snow gear. It looked hot, like he would be hot wearing all that stuff inside. My gear was all thin, but insulated enough to keep me warm outside for a certain period of time.

He led me outside, near where the pool was covered up. There were stakes in the ground so that students don't walk on the pool cover, but there were also marks of footprints on the cover, along with a slab of ice right in the middle where the pool cover was pressed down. Obviously somebody didn't follow the rules.

"C'mon, let's build that snowman," he said. As he spoke, I could see his breath. It had to be at least fifteen degrees, maybe even lower. The skin on my cheeks was freezing already.

I nodded, kneeling down on the ground to start rolling snow into the bottom. We agreed on him making the two smaller ones.

Having no gloves or mittens made this a bit more difficult that I had first expected, but oh well, what could you do?

The snow stuck together easily. It wasn't like the powdery stuff that you can never get to form right, so maybe it wasn't as cold as I thought or something. Either way, it was super easy to make that bottom snowball.

It ended up being as tall as my waist. I sat down on the top, to try to flatten it a little to be easier for the other two that were going on top. Sadly, my bottom wasn't exactly heavy enough to flatten anything.

"You're all skin and bones, Kid, you can't flatten a pile of bubbles," Logan chuckled, carrying over a snowball. "Maybe eating would be a good idea, hm?"

I stuck my tongue out at him he threatened to drop that snowball on me. "I eat, I just don't eat that much."

He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"... Okay, I don't eat much or often."

That seemed to satisfy him, though I don't have a clue how or why.

Logan placed the snowball on top of mine, then made a smaller one for the head for the top. I searched the ground for two pebbles, not seeing him pull two pieces of coal out of his pocket.

Right as I got to my feet with the pebbles, he was poking on the coal pieces. "I see you were prepared."

He pointed the carrot at me before sticking it in between the eyes, and an inch or two below as well. "Always." Logan stuck two sticks in the second snowball for arms, then pulled on mittens over the ends of the sticks. He turned and saw me with my hands in my pockets, so he took the mittens off the snowman.

I shook my head. "Noooo, keep them on him. He needs warm… Sticks."

He snickered. "Of course he does. Keeps his sticks warm." Instead, he started to take off his own gloves and handed them to me. "My hands are good."

I looked up at him. He was being… Nice. Why? Why was he being nice?

Was I somehow in an alternate universe where he is nice to people he usually picks on? People he usually makes fun of, or does questioning things to?

The man that sometimes will pick a flower from the garden and give it to me, but then make fun jokes about me in class.

Being nice to me.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

I dropped the pebbles and gently took the gloves from his hands and put them on. Obviously they were a bit big, but they would do. Logan flashed me a grin as he bent down to pick up the pebbles, and placed the two on the chest of the snowman.

"There! It's a girl!" He looked extremely smug.

Two could play at that game.

Giving him a very bright grin, I took the carrot off the nose and placed it at the bottom of the second snowball. "Nope. I think it's a snow-guy." Something got in my nose. I felt a- "Achoo!"

Logan chuckled softly, rubbing my back with his bare hands. "You alright, Kid?"

"Yeah, just… Something got in my nose, I think," I nodded, rubbing my hands together. I pulled my scarf back up to cover part of my chin as well. If only I had one of those ski masks. That would solve a lot of my problems.

"You wanna go inside?"

"Maaaybe."

"It's a yes or no."

"Yes, then," I laughed softly, nodding. "Yes, I'd like to go back inside. But I have to take a picture of this first!"

Quickly, I grabbed the disposable camera out of my pocket and took a picture. Only a select few of us students have cell phones. I'm not one of them. And I'm also not one that accepts that much money, either. I'm terrible with handling any sort of money. I'm good with my plastic, disposable camera, thanks.

The camera made a 'click' before the scroll thing with the number of photos left went to the next number down. Seventeen.

"There we go. Done."

Logan chuckled, wrapping an arm around my waist before leading me back inside. I felt heat come to my cheeks. He was extremely close. Does he know how this affects me? If he does, he's doing all this on purpose.

He opened the door for me, giving my cheek the smallest of kisses as I passed through the doorway. That only made my cheeks feel like they were on fire.

There's no way he's dumb enough not to know that he's making me blush and feel all weird. There is no way. His power includes senses that are extreme. He has to know. Doesn't he?

It seemed like he was completely oblivious as he led me into the rec room. It was empty now, with the fireplace on. He gestured for me to sit on the couch, which I did. I expected him to take a seat beside me, but he stayed standing.

"You want something to drink? Coffee, hot tea, hot cocoa..?"

"Um… Hot tea, please."

He gave my cheek yet another kiss before leaving the room.

Oh my… Oh my lordy… Oh… Holy what…. What?


	10. Chapter 10

Logan arrived back in the rec room with two mugs. One of them held a liquid that was more clear than the other, and the one that was more dense had a strong coffee smell. It wasn't hard to figure out what he decided to get.

He sat down beside me and handed me the mug of tea, careful not to spill any of the hot liquid onto me. I had undressed out of my snow gear, as had he when he left. Though we were both in jeans and long sleeves, it was nice to be by a fire.

I smiled up and over at him. "Thanks. Did you put any sugar in it?"

"I put in three spoons."

Wow. Somebody pays attention. "Thanks again, Logan." I smiled a little bit brighter as I lifted the mug up to my lips and took a sip. Not too hot, but not cool. Just right. And by the fire, with Logan.

He shrugged. "It was no problem." It seemed like he was playing it off as the cool guy. Or maybe that's just me. Either way, I'm not sure how to respond to that.

So I didn't respond, at least not verbally. Quietly, I sipped at my tea as he drank his coffee. "How can people like coffee?" I asked. Not to offend him, just curiousity got to me.

He hummed. "Coffee is an acquired taste. You haven't acquired it."

"That makes it sound complicated. How does one acquire taste?"

"How does somebody disacquire a taste?"

I laughed. "I don't even think that's a word, Logan."

"Oh, but it is!" He sounded offended, but I swore it was mockery. "Because I said it."

Grinning, I replied, "Just because you say something means that it's a thing now, right?"

"Exactly!" He nodded surely. Now he just sounded cocky.

Laughing some more, I drank the rest of my tea and set it down on the short wood table in front of us. Of all people to spend an afternoon with, a Saturday afternoon, he chose me. That baffled me to no end, but I wasn't going to question it now. I'll enjoy my alone time with this man while it lasts.

"I have a question."

"And I may have an answer."

He gave me an amused look at my reply. "Alright. Why are you closed off?"

Wait a second. Was he put up for this? "What do you mean?"

"You don't really come out of your room other than to come here and to go to class. You don't hang out with Rogue or Kitty or any of the other girls. Why?"

Of all things that he could ask me, he asks me why I'm not sociable. Why I'm not a party animal or very outgoing. "What's it to you?" I asked in a lower tone, avoiding his eyes.

Logan frowned, moving so that he could look me in the eyes. Too bad I refused to allow my eyes to meet his. "I'm just asking. Even Rogue isn't like that."

"That's Rogue. This is Felicity."

"Felicity holds secrets."

"So does Logan, I do believe."

"Which ones are you willing to share?" he asked me softly, his face close to mine. I could feel his warm breath on my skin.

It made my heart skip a beat. Logan. The most mysterious professor. The one that has secrets beyond belief. The man who is quite good looking when it comes to the face and the muscles, but also stays covered.

The man that is right in front of me, less than two inches from my face.

Logan.

Before I knew it, I had my lips pressed to his. It was a nice feeling. In the movies and books, they always talk about how you can feel sparks. If this person is the one for you. The sparks are no lie. Or maybe I'm exaggerating.

But I dearly hope that I'm not.

The lips that were pressed to mine curved up in a smile slightly, just enough that I could feel it. A sure sign that I wasn't the only one that was enjoying this moment.

Finally, before I could pass out from lack of oxygen, I pulled away. Logan kept me close and pressed his forehead to mine, still smiling. "Is that a secret you were begging to tell?"

I blushed. "I didn't know you'd find out so soon…" I hadn't planned on telling anyone. A student liking a teacher. Not very unusual, sure, but it is also frowned upon if said student and teacher actually become a thing.

But come on. This is totally different. It isn't high school.

Alright, it pretty much is, but that is not my point at all. The point is that this is different. Way different. Probably.

He snickered softly. His voice was always soft now, when he was so close. Gruff, yet oddly attractive and handsome. Gently, he placed one of his hands over mine and put it on his waist. "I was waiting to be sure…"

"You waited for me?"

"Of course I did. It would have been very awkward if I was the only one. A teacher.. And a student…"

"I won't be a student forever, you know," I said in a soft tone, just like he was speaking in. "I'm eighteen, after all. Graduation this spring.."

He raised his eyebrows. "You sure? When Storm and I went to get you, you were-"

I laughed. "Seventeen? Yeah, I was."

"When did this switch come?"

"The birthday, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Today."

His eyes widened. "Today is your birthday? How come you don't have anything planned?"

I shrugged. "What do you mean? It's just another day. I'm literally a day older than yesterday. It's three hundred and sixty five or six days from the day I turned seventeen 'officially'." Birthdays, where I always came from, never really were celebrated.

Logan considered that for a moment. "... True, but you're now a legal adult."

"Not 'legal' for me to drink."

"Nobody's gonna tell," he winked.

I snorted. "That's not my point, Logan. My point is that it's just another day." Besides the point that I just kissed my all-time crush. Who also likes me. Who is also older, but age shouldn't matter. There's really nothing much wrong with older men, right? He can't be that much older, anyway.

Logan shook his head. "It's your birthday! If I'd have known, I would have-"

"You kissed me back. That means a lot. That's enough," I smiled up at him, leaning into his side.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders carefully. "I'll be sure to make your birthday special."

"It already is," I murmured, leaning up to place a soft kiss on his cheek. That made him smile. "I promise. It's good already."

Who knew that this would be what my eighteenth birthday held?

It was all so sudden. I had no idea what would end up happening, but whether or not I was ready for it, it was happening. All I could hope for was my memory to stay in tact. Lord knows that I need to remember some things.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in bed with a man behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist. And the most odd part?

Everything that happened that last night, I remembered. And there were no regrets at all.

Being so close to somebody who understands, at least for the most part, did feel amazing. There was somebody I could finally talk to. Somebody who could also vent to me, but did keep it to a minimum. He often said that he needed to be the strong arms for both of us.

It felt almost surreal, really.

*A Few Weeks Later*

"Another Danger Room session," I sighed softly, walking at the side of Logan. We were walking together to the mess hall, for breakfast. He never spoke much during meals, but he somehow appreciated having me at his side. I'll never understand that. "It's with Scott and Storm."

He gently wrapped an arm around my waist. "Be careful. I don't want to have to beat up Scott again."

I snorted. "Again? You never beat him up."

Logan grinned widely. "I've thought about it. He's not exactly the nicest."

"The guy has his reasons. You'd be depressed, too, if you were in his position."

It's been two years ever since a teacher named Jean Grey died. She was apparently Scott's lover. I'm not sure if they were married, engaged, or just dating. Scott was devastated after her passing, I've been told, and it still affects him. Sometimes I wish that I knew the Scott he was before her death. He would be totally different.

A kiss was placed on the top of my head. "I plan on protecting you from anything. You don't have to worry about it ending that way."

I tilted my head up to look at him and smiled. "You're too sweet." Sweet. When he wants to be. "I have to have a quick breakfast, alright?"

He frowned. "You better not skip breakfast."

Logan was never exactly strict about me eating, but he did know that I've had eating disorders in the past. Anorexia being one of them, though I still don't believe that's what it was. I just was never hungry. So I didn't eat much.

"Me? Skip? No, I'll still eat. Probably a banana and milk or something." Better than nothing, he would say.

Storm was strict about the Danger Room session, more strict than usual. It was the older kids that attended. Being this close to graduation, meaning four or five months away, she wanted to make sure we were all prepared, whether we wanted to enter the world as 'normal people' who disguise our powers or stay and teach alongside her and Scott and the Professor.

Scott gazed over at me and gave me a glare. "You're slowin' us down, Felicity, keep it moving!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying," I repeated for about the tenth time, running up the side of a rather steep hill. It wasn't huge, but it's no picnic in the Danger Room.

"Rogue, look out!"

"Hang on, Bobby, I'm still-"

_"I said to watch out!"_

Rogue's eyes widened as she watched some robotic being aim the laser right at her. She had almost no defence against something like that. If it was organic, I would have something at least, but she had nothing.

Bobby quickly aimed a hand at the robot, shooting an ice beam through his palm onto the robot. It almost instantly froze solid, unable to move. He walked over to it and kicked it with his heel. The head just popped right off.

I laughed, giving Bobby a high five. "That's a nice way to end some metal."

"All in a day's work!" he grinned, then helped Rogue up by giving her a hand. The look they both gave each other made me think of Logan. How him and I sometimes look at each other. Before we both do some stuff.

Storm growled, frustrated. "You three need to catch up!"

At least we were doing something semi-productive there. Taking the head off of a robot that was a threat to everybody in the Danger Room is productive, in my eyes, but in Storm's eyes? Probably not.

In Scott's eyes? Probably even less productive.

I looked to my right and completely froze. "Guys-!"

_"LOOK OUT!"_ somebody screamed.

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep_

"What the hell happened to her?!"

"Logan, she was-"

"Why did _she_ get hurt?! Weren't you suppose to be _teaching_ her, not _letting her get slaughtered?!_"

Cringing at his tone, I opened my eyes. "Shh… Not so loud… Hurts my ears…"

His expression almost instantly softened at hearing my voice. He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. "Sorry, Princess…"

"Enough with the nicknames, cheeseball," I murmured half jokingly, raising my hand to place it on his arm, but I missed. Stupid hand-eye coordination. Must always be terrible for me.

Storm. I couldn't see her, but I heard her. "The droid brought you down with the gun. The shot obviously wasn't fatal, but it could have been."

"What's a fatal droid gun doing in a Danger Room with kids? Teenagers? In training?" Logan demanded, sitting down at my side. Lord knows how he always loves to be close to me. I just don't know why. He's just a great guy…

The Professor was in the room. He spoke next. "It was a malfunction. That droid shouldn't have been in that session with those kids. I'll find out what caused it. That droid was for teacher-only training."

Logan nodded. "It's the one in the Number Thirty room simulation, right?"

"Correct," the Professor replied. "I don't know how it got in that session."

I looked over at him, my eyes half shut. I was so tired. "Did anybody else get hurt, Professor?"

He shook his head. "Thankfully, no. But you have yet to learn to heal yourself, if at all possible, Felicity. We'll leave it to the most organic of medicines for now."

Being the only student in the school who can't intake any sort of inorganic medicines sucks. Especially when you're a girl. It's never too pleasant.

Though he gave me a smile. "If you're anything like Logan here, you'll be up and at 'em shortly. I have high hopes."

"That makes one of us…"

Logan took my hand. "_Two_. Out of three."

At least he has high expectations...


	11. Chapter 11

My fingers felt up to my forehead gently. No marks there. They moved to the right. Again, there was no bump or bruise of any kind. Moving my fingertips to the left of my head, I stopped. There was a large circular scab. No doubt, it had at one point bled. That's the whole point of scabbing.

"I wouldn't touch that much, if I were you."

I quickly turned around. Logan. "You heal almost instantly, how would you know if I should touch it or not?"

He smiled. "Because the Professor told me to tell you not to touch it. You can get infections easier than anybody at this school."

I rolled my eyes. "That's probably the dumbest thing about my mutation. I'm more susceptible to all sorts of things, but I can still heal people. Even if they are an inch from death."

Logan walked over to me, sitting down on my bed beside me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "It's hard for your own cells to order your own cells around. It's like an endless circle of command. The commanding cells are being commanded by themselves to do commands."

"And you would know this how?" I laughed softly, looking up at him.

He shrugged. "Just from what I know about your power."

I nodded. "Right, right… It sucks."

Logan frowned. "How so?"

"I can do so much. I can heal broken bones. I can heal infections. But I can't heal my own damn scabs and bruises and cuts and scars-"

Without another word leaving my mouth, he shut me up with a kiss. I had no other choice than to comply to what he wanted. Shutting me up. Was it really that easy, for him? Is that really all it took?

Apparently. Not that I truly minded. It's a very good way to shut me up. The only person who this would work for was him.

He leaned back, parting our lips' contact, and smiled. "You need to calm down."

"You'd feel the same way, Logan," I said softly, leaning into him. "You're almost immortal. Healing instantly. I'm the opposite. It takes me twice as long to heal."

Gently, he placed three fingers under my chin and lifted my head up so he could look me in the eyes. "You can't change who you are. That's just who you are."

"Yeah, well… Who I am sucks…"

He didn't like the sound of that at all, but didn't answer.

Rogue was laughing, probably at some joke Bobby told, as I walked into the recroom on a Saturday morning. She looked over at me, then grinned. "Oh! Felicity! We were just talking about you!"

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, taking a seat on the armchair by the fireplace. "Hopefully not too bad." When others say something like that, they usually were talking smack about me. Makes no sense, but what can I do about it?

The look on her face made me feel a bit uneasy. What she said next made my eyes widen in shock.

"Have you and Logan popped the cherry yet?"

I could feel heat come to my face in a wave. No doubt my face was red as a cherry. "W-What? N-No, we've only been dating for a month..!"

Okay. We've slept together, but it never had sex. It was always just cuddling. He has these nightmares, but somehow I help him through that, and vice versa.

Rogue burst into laughter. "You guys sleep in each other's rooms though! What exactly do you do in there?"

Storm walked in as soon as Rogue said that and gave her a stern look. "Rogue, that's enough. Stop harassing Felicity."

She made a face. "I was just-"

"Do I need to ask you again?"

Rogue groaned. "Fine."

God bless Storm.

There have been times where I thought we would end up leading up to that moment. Popping the cherry. But all those times, he would stop urging. Logan was a man, not some hormonal teenage boy. He knew I probably wasn't ready. I didn't even know if I was ready…

"If you could change anything about your life, your past or even what's happening right now, what would you change?"

"... I wouldn't change anything."

His answer didn't surprise me one bit. It was the same answer I have, and most likely for the same reason. I smiled at him before giving his cheek a nice kiss. "Smart man."

He grinned, kissing my temple. "If things were different, then I would have met you."

My eyebrows raised. "Oh?" It did make me smile, though. He said really cheesy things at just the right moments. An ass one minute, a sweet guy the next.

Logan nuzzled me, nodding. "The sweet girl who softened this old man…"

I playfully nudged him. "This 'old man' was soft before I got to him. I just let it show."

"I'm older than you think…" he said softly. The tone he used was almost wary.

"What do you mean…?"

There began his explanation of his beginning. More so, when he was born… In the mid 1800s. Which makes him between one hundred and two hundred years old.

And he's dating an eighteen year old girl.

Now I believe I can see why he's restrained from some things…

Before I knew it, we were both breathing heavily. He had rolled off the top of me and was holding me close to him, almost laying my body on top of his. I felt internally cold, but my skin was warm. Hot even. I hadn't known what at all to expect.

"I'm so sorry…. Sorry I had to hurt you… To bring you pleasure…." he whispered into my ear.

I kissed his cheek gently. "It won't hurt again…"


	12. Chapter 12

~3rd Person POV~

A long day at some spa near the Mansion was just what Rogue thought that Felicity needed. They ended up taking Kitty as well, and the Professor's 'emergency' credit card. In their eyes, this was totally an emergency.

"Hey, what color should I get?" Rogue asked, fingering through a large box filled with nail polish. She had called in advanced to be sure the ladies wore latex gloves while they worked. No skin to skin contact. "I like this red color…"

Felicity laughed softly. "I think just about everybody gets red, Rogue."

"Not true!" Kitty grinned. "I usually got a weird blue shade, or a purple. Today I'm just going to get the French tip." Of all the girls, it was quite plain that Kitty was the most 'girly' girl. Her fashion sense and way of telling the others that that 'doesn't look quite right' proved just that. "What color are you going to get, Felicity?"

The blonde haired girl shrugged. "I don't know, really. What color do you think looks best?"

Rogue snorted. "I think you'd look best in some dark red color."

"Look at this!" Kitty held up a dark purple nail polish color. "It's called 'Seduction'. Maybe Lissie should get that one!" Jokes on Felicity. Not an abnormal thing.

"Nah, she's got the whole 'seducing' thing in the bag."

"Right-"

Felicity's eyebrows rose a fraction. Both of them. "Oh? You two really want to play that game?"

A short, plump Asian woman walked over to the girls from the back room. "Have you made your selections?" she asked politely, her voice thick in some sort of Asian accent.

The three girls looked at each other, and then back at her, shaking their heads. "No, I don't think we have quite the right polish chosen yet," Rogue said slowly. The topic of nail polish had almost left their minds completely.

Feeling rude and slightly out of place, the three quickly chose nail polishes. After a long argument about what color would 'look best' with Kitty, Felicity ended up choosing a dark red polish color named 'scarlett o'hara'. Rogue got a dark blue polish, and Kitty got a light pink shade. She pretty much gave up on the French tip idea.

Because all three girls decided early on getting both manicures and pedicures, they all took seats in large pedicure chairs. The backs of the chairs vibrated and there was an internal rod inside them that constantly massaged their backs.

Felicity looked around the room in amusement. She had never gotten her nails done before. Being in a nail salon was a real change for her.

The walls were painted a pretty beige, with one wall having a really nice yellow shade to stand out. There were clay statues all around, and plants in every corner, even hung on the ceilings. A long line of off-white pedicure chairs lined one whole wall, while another wall was filled with tables where they did all the manicures and fingernail polishing.

Kitty noticed Felicity looking around. "What do you think, Lissie?"

"It's… Different," Felicity shrugged, taking her socks off and dipping her bare feet in the warm and bubbly water at the base of the pedicure chair. "Maybe even the most elegant place I've ever been in."

Her head tilted. "Really? Well, salons are usually pretty nice places. Unless you go to a bad place. You just have to know where to go."

Felicity nodded, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. While the chair worked on her back, massaging all the knots out, the main lady came out and started on Rogue's nails.

"Aren't you going to use gloves?"

"I wash hands before-"

"I'd like you to use gloves.. Please."

The lady gave Rogue an odd look, but did put on a pair of latex gloves before she started on Rogue's feet.

The first Asian lady, that had asked them before if they had their selections ready, had already started on Kitty's feet. An odd looking male walked over to Felicity and looked at her selections.

The male laughed. "Going for red, eh?"

Felicity smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

"It should work very nicely with your eye color," he said brightly, setting the polish bottle aside. He put a pair of gloves on, then put two little pill-type objects in the water.

The pills confused Felicity. "What's that?"

"It's just to make your feet smoother," the man replied absently as he pulled out a bottle of some chunky yellow stuff. When he applied the yellow stuff to her legs, it felt weird. It was like a type of lotion, only with beads inside it.

"That feels weird…"

"It makes your legs a little smoother," he explained, his bright tone starting to go away at all her questions.

Not wanting to anger the man much more, she just sat still as he worked on her legs and, finally, her toenail polish.

The man, called Ty from the other ladies at the nail salon, looked at her toes, then at her. "Have you ever gotten your nails done?" he asked.

Felicity shook her head. "Nah… I never had the money. Or time." Or ability, but she left that little part out.

Ty nodded, opening a bottle of clear coat polish. "I see. You can tell because-" And he began explaining something about how her nails were natural and looked 'untampered' with, none of which Felicity really paid any attention to.

Somebody tapped on Felicity's shoulder. She looked up, only to see Kitty. "Are you alright?" she asked softly, not wanting Ty or the other ladies to hear them talking.

Felicity nodded. "Fine. I'm fine." Her voice sounded a bit off, but she thought she felt fine.

"You sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

Soon enough, they all three were done with getting their toenails painted. Kitty and Rogue walked over to some sink in the main room to wash their hands, while Felicity was led into a different room to wash her hands.

Minutes later, Felicity came back with Ty, and the fingernail polish session started. Kitty and Rogue talked the entire time. Felicity didn't really try to intervene into their conversations at all, instead just keeping to herself.

The time flew by. Kitty's nails got done first, quickly followed by Rogue's, and finally Felicity was done. Rogue swiped the credit card, and they left to go back to the mansion.

All the while, Kitty was trying so hard to get Felicity to talk some more, about anything. But Felicity wasn't really talking. Something was up.

"Do you like your new nails, Felicity?"

"They're alright."

"I think they're very pretty."

"Yeah, they're nice."

Kitty sighed softly. All of her attempts to get Felicity to talk or carry on a longer than three word sentence was failing miserably. She didn't get it. The attempts were all out of her being nice, but all attempts being shot down hurt. Though she didn't try to show it.

Rogue, on the other hand, was actually enjoying this. She thought the whole conversation thing was very entertaining, seeing the way Kitty was getting frustrated. It wasn't a normal thing, so it was interesting. "Nice job on the French tips, Kitty."

"... Oh, haha, that's hilarious. You're hilarious, Rogue," Kitty rolled her eyes, turning the key into the ignition. Because of special permission, they had taken the Professor's car. It was one of those luxury cars, impeccable interior that if you even drop a crumb, it will look disgusting. "I think the pink looks cute."

Felicity looked over at Kitty, then shrugged. "It looks alright," she said in a light, bored tone. It didn't really surprise Kitty or Rogue this time.

"Hey, did we take Interstate Five to get back to Maple, then the turn off, or did we take this next exit off to Cherry and then go to Maple off of that?" Kitty asked as she pulled out of the parking lot.

Rogue gave her a blank look. "I dunno. I'm not the one who drove us here."

Kitty turned around to look at Felicity as they hit a stop sign. "Did we take the Interstate or did we go to Cherry Street, Felicity?"

Just like Rogue's reply, Felicity only shrugged. "I don't remember. I think either one will get us back to Maple, right?"

Nodding slowly, Kitty pulled out onto the Interstate. "Okay then… We'll just go this way."

Felicity leaned back her head against the seat, closing her eyes.

_"__**Party crasher, penny smasher… Call me up if you want gangsta'...**_

_"__**Why so serious?"**_

What woke up Felicity some minutes later was some jostling. It was Kitty, shaking her shoulder, telling her to wake up and get out of the car. "Come on, we're here…"

"Leave me alone," she groaned, turning over and pressing her face into the seat. It smelled new, even though it was a few years old. She loved that smell…

Kitty sighed softly. "Come on, Lissie, you need to get out." Even now, Kitty sounded a bit impatient. Which was a bit strange for her. "You'll be late for that class tonight…"

That made Felicity's eyes open. She looked right at Kitty. "What class?" her head tilted.

Kitty frowned. "Your healing class with Logan…?" How could Felicity forget it? It was the only class she was suppose to have that day, and it was her favorite class to boot.

Nodding, Felicity let out a breath. "Oh… Oh, yeah, I remember it now. I forgot what day it was, that's all."

"It starts in like ten minutes. You should start heading on up there. I think Logan already got your stuff at your desk," Kitty told her as she helped her out of the car.

Felicity hummed, nodding once more. "Okay. Thanks for taking me to the salon, Kitty."

Hearing a thanks made Kitty smile. It wasn't very often that she got thanked for what she did. It was a bit more rare at the school to receive thanks for much of anything. "You're welcome. I had fun."

Felicity smiled. "Me too."

Even with the ten minute warning of when class would start, Felicity was still late. She somehow forgot where the classroom was and had to ask for directions twice in order to get to the right room.

When she entered the classroom, Logan stopped talking and looked at her. "Felicity, I thought you got back fifteen minutes ago?" he asked, walking over to her. His demeanor always changed slightly when he talked to her. Nicer, calmer.

Felicity paused. "I… Um…._ Bathroom issue?_"

He didn't question her any more, leading her to her seat. "We were just talking about the manipulation of red and white blood cells. Obviously, you can't multiply them unless you have some superhuman ability. Even superhuman for a mutant."

"You don't have a superhuman mutant ability like _that_," a girl mumbled to Felicity, laughing under her breath. "Don't get full of yourself."

Logan raised his eyebrows. "Grace? You have any comments you wish to share with the class?"

Grace quickly shook her head. "No, Professor Logan."

He shot Felicity a wink before he went on with his lecture. "Now, because we can't multiply the cells, there are other ways with mutants with abilities much like ones you all have to mutate them in a way that is like multiplying them. It has the same effect, but it takes longer and is more drenching on the common mutant."

Felicity raised her hand. "Are we going to do a demonstration?"

Logan shrugged. "We could. It would be a bit difficult, but we'd need a sample of blood cells, both red and white, along with somebody who would like to attempt it. Because of the power, we can't have the same person bare the blood and mutate the cells."

Grace looked over at Felicity and grinned before calling out, "How about Felicity volunteers for the blood sample, and _I'll_ try to mutate her cells?"

"I don't think that's a great idea," Logan shook his head, placing a hand on Felicity's shoulder. "The whole point would be to have a mutant's blood that is not of the X gene capable to heal."

Felicity looked at Grace right in the eyes. "My blood can't withstand the air anyway." Her voice was almost cold, scary.

Grace stood up out of her seat. "Wanna _bet_?" she growled, bending down so their faces were inches apart.

Logan quickly pulled Felicity away, while a boy student grabbed Grace's shoulders. Both girls weren't looking very happy with the other, or even being held back.

"What's wrong with you?" Logan whispered to Felicity. She usually was never the type to get into fights, be mean, argue… "What happened?"

Her mood disappeared, almost as quickly as it came. "What? _Nothing_, I'm fine."

_Logan_, the Professor's voice echoed in Logan's head.

Logan looked up in surprise.

_Bring Felicity to my office. __**Now**__._

Such a stern voice made Logan wary, though he dismissed the class and took Felicity's hand. Something just seemed wrong about this.


	13. Chapter 13

Logan kissed Felicity's temple. "The Professor wants to see us, Princess."

Felicity stayed close in his side as they walked the halls. "Why does he want to see me?" she asked, tilting her head. She was confused to no end why he wanted to see her. Maybe they were going to get a talk because he kissed her the day before in class. That could be it.

Or it could possibly be the point that she had left a little bit of mud in his luxury car when she had went from the salon to the Mansion. Possibly, there could be more possibilities. It made her laugh to think of that sentence that way.

Logan pushed the door open to Professor Xavier's office. It was only then that Felicity finally realized something. Her body became stiff.

Xavier seemed calm enough, but he motioned for both to come closer. "Logan. Felicity." He said her name in a different tone than he said Logan's. Usually, it wasn't so clear that something was wrong, but right then, it was very clear.

Felicity's eyes flashed yellow.

Logan, The Professor said inside Logan's mind. Be careful.

His request baffled Logan, but as asked, Logan took a wary side step. He looked at Felicity up and down. Nothing about her seemed off, but to the Professor, something was off.

"Charles," Felicity suddenly grinned, setting her palms down on the desk. "Long time, no see." A wave of blue scales came over Felicity's small, thin frame. Almost in an instant, what used to look like an exact replica of Felicity was instead Mystique.

Logan's eyes widened as he took a step back. A rather large step, one might add. "What the hell…!"

Mystique looked at Logan, then moved to swing her leg at his cheek. He quickly caught wind of what was happening, and pushed all his worry away to be sure he didn't get hurt to badly. Not that it mattered, but it would definitely slow him down.

He caught her leg in the air, his blades sliding out of his knuckles. Logan cupped his hand at her throat and held her against the wall. His blades were almost touching her neck. "What did you do with Felicity?"

Mystique looked at him, then slowly her body transfigured into the form of Felicity. She blinked innocently. "What do you mean, my dear?"

"What the hell did you do with her?!" His eyes blazed furiously as he brought his blades closer to her neck.

Professor Xavier rolled his wheelchair closer to them. He was making sure that she wouldn't do anything to get away, or to hurt anybody. "Raven, what did you do with her?" he asked, looking her right in the eyes.

She only tried to shake her head. "I did nothing with her! I'm not the one who-" She almost blurted something out, but she instead quickly shut her mouth. "I didn't do anything. You can't say I did anything!"

"Impersonation isn't 'anything'?" Logan snarled. It terrified him that he had fallen for her ploy. That he thought she was his beloved. It should have been more obvious. A man would know his lover by how she acted. And he didn't catch on quickly. He was almost to the point of internally beating himself up about it. "Where is she?!"

Mystique laughed. She would have spit in his face, but because the Professor was holding her back from doing most movements, along with Logan restraining her, she didn't. "I don't know."

"You do know! Tell me! Dammit!"

"Logan, this won't help-"

Logan turned to face Xavier. "I don't care! Where is she?!"

Professor Xavier sighed softly. He reached out and touched Mystique's cheek. Almost instantly, her eyes drooped and her eyelids shut. She became limp and almost seemed lifeless. He looked over at Logan. "Bring her to the downstairs infirmary. I'll tell Storm to meet us there."

"What-"

"Don't question me," his eyes narrowed. Of all times, now Logan was tugging at his patience.


	14. Chapter 14

Logan paced back and forth inside the main room of the medical wing. His palms were damp with sweat, as was his forehead. The beating of his heart was well beyond normal, at a more extreme rate, even for him.

Professor Xavier looked up at him, sighing. "There is a chair right here, you know, Logan."

He quickly shook his head. "I'm not going to sit down." His Felicity was at some unknown place. Did the Professor really think that he'd be okay, knowing that? Was he stupid or something? He chose the latter of the two.

All that Logan could hear next was some sort of humming. It was the Professor, with both hands on the sides of Mystique's head. Logan assumed that it was for reading her thoughts, seeing her memories. It gave Logan hope that they would get to see Felicity sooner, rather than later.

His pacing didn't stop. After a few minutes, it only quickened. It was like he couldn't settle down enough to even think clearly. All that ran through his mind was 'where is she? Are they hurting her? God dammit, they better not be hurting her...'

After what seemed like hours, but was only a few more minutes, Professor Xavier looked up at Logan. "Go and fetch Storm. Tell her to dismiss her class. She didn't hear me earlier. Then head up to Alkali lake."

"Alkali lake? That's where-"

Xavier nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, that's where we lost Jean. And regained her."

At the memory of Jean, Logan seemed a bit anxious. Of course, he loved Felicity. But maybe, by any small chance, he might see or hear from Jean again while he was there. After all, she could very well be alive. Just like last time.

"Logan! You must go as soon as possible!"

"Right," he said in a hurry, rushing out of the medical room.

"Storm?"

"I got it," Storm nodded. Her eyes slowly fogged up into some misty grey color as she looked to the sky. The air around Alkali lake was thick, moist. It was a bit tougher to breathe in, in fact, one of the reasons that Storm had to clear it.

The fog slowly faded away, as did the misty look in Storm's eyes. She nodded towards Logan. "Let's go."

Logan looked around. He knew that underground, there was a secret fortress. They had been through this before. All that they had to do was find an entrance. That would be the toughest part of this small mission.

Though the fog was now cleared, that didn't change the fact that the humidity was well above eighty percent. It didn't take long at all for Logan to be covered in beads of sweat as they looked for some sign of an entryway.

The entry wasn't going to be obvious, they both knew that. It would be well hidden, something that only a fair few would even know about or think to find. Unless you had a purpose to find it, you wouldn't get far.

Storm sighed softly. "They changed it…"

"What?" Logan frowned, looking over at her. Changed…?

She pointed to a barren spot near a few trees. "The entrance used to be around there. See the hole?"

Logan nodded.

"Well, it was right there. Don't you remember?"

"Not really."

She grumbled, "I guess that's what you get for being old…"

Of course he did remember, but the reason he denied knowing was because he'd rather be called old than stupid. Stupid for not putting two and two together. Or, rather two and one.

Logan headed over to a small group of rocks. The rocks were all moist, save for one right in the middle. How odd. "Storm?"

"Yeah?" She looked up at him. She had been knelt down by a patch of grass, examining it. Logan couldn't fathom why. How could grass help them find where Felicity was?

He pointed to the rock. "This one isn't wet like the others."

Storm made her way over to him, kneeling down. "That's weird… Maybe…" She touched it. Her head almost instantly tilted. "It's not a rock."

Logan made a face. "What? What is it, then?"

"It's-"

They both looked up quickly at the sound of footsteps.

"I see you followed those measly clues," Magneto chuckled. "Too bad they can't help you anymore."

At first, Logan wanted nothing more than to charge at Magneto. Tear him to shreds. A second thought, though, made him reconsider. Magneto could injure him far more than he ever could imagine. His metal skeleton would be a liability in this situation.

Storm took a step forward. "You have Felicity."

"I do," Magneto nodded, smiling. "She's a rather powerful little girl."

Logan growled. "She's not a girl. She's a woman."

Magneto raised his eyebrows, more amused than worried about how harsh Logan was speaking to him. "She is the first class five mutant I've encountered ever since Jean. Is she not, Logan?"

Logan crinkled his eyebrows. "She's… Not class five."

"Yes, she is. Didn't Charles tell you?"

Storm stepped between the two. "Look. We just want her back." Logan could fully tell that she didn't want to try to use force on a mutant that was so much more powerful than them both. Logan didn't want to either.

"Indeed, I can tell. I believe she would do good on our cause," Magneto countered, twiddling his fingers between a metal coin, reshaping it. "In fact-"

That was the straw that broke him. "Just give her back!" Logan cried out, lunging at the man. His rapid heartbeat was back, and in fact, faster than before. His blood pressure kept rising.

Magneto raised a hand, about to stop Logan from touching his skin-

"Do not touch him," a female voice growled lowly.

Storm turned around, shocked.

~AN~

Oohhhh, we got a surprise at the end of this chapter! This is a fun book to write, truthfully. It just flows off the keyboard and onto the screen. I hope y'all are enjoying it almost as much as I enjoy writing it! Please vote, comment, all that good stuff! LONG reviews are much welcome!

3


	15. Chapter 15

Magneto calmly looked upon the girl behind the two X-Men. "Don't worry, I have them-"

The girl shook her head. Her skin looked dark, as did her hair. Logan didn't think it was Felicity. "I wasn't talking about you," she snapped, pointing at Magneto. "Back away from him!"

He only laughed, taking a step forward. "You have no control over me, my dear." He was lying to himself, to everybody. She could have control over him. His organic cells, his body as a whole. But he didn't want to let her know that.

She raised up a hand. Slowly, Magneto was lifted up off the ground. His shoes were inches above ground, his face still calm. "I do. And you know it." Her voice was firm, not soft and gentle as it usually was.

His head shot up as she spoke. "I promised you-"

"And you already broke that promise," she said in a low tone. Logan got a better look at this girl. He was sure it was Felicity. It had to be. Sure, she looked different, but it just had to be her. The skin color was darker, the hair was darker, but it was her. Her eyes were Felicity's. That was all the proof he needed.

Magneto's eyes widened. "What? No, I didn't-"

The dark skinned girl growled again, shifting her hand to the side. Magneto was physically pushed through the air, before being dropped onto a pile of rocks. He grunted as he hit the sharp rock edges.

The girl didn't have a clear expression of her face. She could have been happy about causing him pain, sad about it, or anything. But nothing was clear now. The fog was coming back, and it wasn't just a mere fog. It was thick, consistency of oatmeal fog.

Storm ran over to where Magneto now lay. He wasn't in good shape, but could easily be healed by his own followers. She nodded at Logan.

Logan walked to the darker skinned girl. He was fairly sure that it was her now. The way she stood up straight, her movements. It was probably something only he would recognize about her. "Felicity…?"

The girl looked over at him, expression finally coming clear. He quickly wrapped his arms around her as her legs buckled, halfway collapsing. "I'm… Sorry…" she murmured, trying to hug him close, but she just couldn't find the strength to.

He kissed her forehead, lifting her into his arms bridal-style. "It's alright. I'm here now."

Felicity nodded, leaning her head against his chest. Listening to his heartbeat always seemed to calm her down. The usual steady beat inside of his chest, like a small drum…

*Felicity's POV*

"That… Was terrible."

"Was it?"

"Absolutely terrible. The food was crap, the entertainment was weak, and Magneto is not a good host."

Logan seemed to find it funny how I described my time under that weird lake, inside some metal base compound. It hadn't been a picnic for me, more like the exact opposite. "The way you describe it, it was like you were on some horrible cruise," he said in an amused tone.

I shrugged. "It wasn't too bad… He tried to sweet talk me into working with him. Something about the Brotherhood. But I never paid too much attention."

He wrapped an arm around my waist. "At least you're back now. That's all that matters to me."

I swear, sometimes, he's just too adorable for his own good. To me, at least.


	16. Chapter 16

I woke up the next morning with a sore feeling. Small scratches, I soon found out, riddled my body. It could have been worse, but the fact was, it wasn't. This is what I had to deal with.

It took me a few more seconds to realize I wasn't alone. Somebody had their arms wrapped around me. No shirt. Their chest rose and fell steadily against my back.

I smiled to myself. It was Logan.

His arms around were around my waist, and yet, his hands were inside my shirt, on the higher part of my stomach. Even in sleep, he's a cheeky thing.

Internally, I started snickering. He'd resent that, if he were awake. Probably.

Being careful as to not wake him, I rested my forearms against his, snuggling my body back into his. I looked down, for no apparent reason, and sighed.

All of my hard work, to eat better and to eat more... That was all gone to waste. My arms were practically skin and bone. Logan wouldn't love that.

Girls think they have to be skinny in order to get a guy. That couldn't be more wrong. Have a little bit of meat on your body. They'll love that. Especially if it's in the right places.

Too many people can forget that. It's a good thing Logan doesn't love me just for my body.

A small burst of warm air hit my ear. Logan stirred in his sleep, mumbling something, just like he always did before he woke up.

He yawned. His morning breath hit my nose, making me hold my own breath. He may be who I love, but… Morning breath is a serious thing.

Logan chuckled, "Good morning, Princess."

"Morning," I smiled, rolling over to face him and give him a frontal hug. "Sleep well?"

He nodded. "Of course I did."

Just the usual morning. With everything back to the way it was… I couldn't be happier.

It woke me up at two in the morning. Scared me half to death, really. I hadn't been expecting it. This hadn't happened in a long time. Why did it come now?

"Err..." Logan mumbled, stirring in his sleep. His blood pressure was rising, I could feel it with my power. His body was heating up, but it wasn't because he was sick.

Another nightmare.

I gently murmured into his ear, telling him it was alright. Everything was going to be fine. It was only just a dream. There was nothing that he needed to be afraid of.

He roared, his blades unsheathing from his knuckles. In mere seconds, he had slashed through a pillow. Unluckily, it was a feather pillow. Feathers flew around the room like a fresh snowfall.

"Logan!" I said loudly, my eyes widened. In this state, it wouldn't take much for him to-

Logan's eyes opened. He slowly looked down at his hands, bringing the blades back into his body. The look he gave me made me almost want to cry. Shaking, he tugged me close to his muscular frame, kissing the side of my face.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

I rubbed his back gently, hugging him tightly. "It's alright. It was just a dream."

He didn't reply, not pulling away.

I gave Logan a squeeze with my hand gently as we walked through the gardens. I smiled, "It's such a beautiful day, isn't it?"

He gave me a grin. "Almost as beautiful as yourself, Princess

Playfully, I nudged him in the side. "Nice one, Logan."

He chuckled, swinging our arms at our sides before he let go of my hand and wrapped an arm around my waist.

What I can never understand is how I ever came to deserve somebody like him. Somebody who cares so much and is so loving, yet so protective when they need to be. Protective of me. It's something I never thought I'd feel before.

"So, graduation is tomorrow?" he asked, bringing up a conversation we haven't yet had.

I nodded. "Yeah, graduation... The ceremony is going to be out here, I think. Can you believe only twelve people are graduating?"

"And you're one of them. The most shocking one of all!" he joked, grinning once more. Sometimes I swear, this man will be the death of me.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "You-"

"Don't stick it out unless you intend to use it," he said slyly.

I could feel heat come to my cheeks. "You dirty old man. Go bleach that brain of yours."

He brought a hand up to his heart. "Ouch. That one stung." Slowly he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the top of my head. "I love you."

It wasn't ever the long conversations that meant the most to me. It was ones like this. Just plain talking, walking, spending time with each others. That's all that truly matters, right?

"I love you too."


	17. Chapter 17

It wasn't too much to worry about. Graduation. I didn't have to say anything special, make any speeches. All I essentially had to do was show up, wear a robe and cap, and take my slip when my name was called.

"Yvonne Edwards!"

Not me.

The half-Asian girl walked up with a grin plastered on her face. It looked halfway, or more, forced.

I gazed out into the crowd. Logan was in the front row, looking at me with a smile. He gave me a small thumbs-up, then yelled out my name.

My face started to heat up, but I didn't look away. Instead, I made a small hand heart before blowing him a kiss. "Love ya!"

"Love you too, Princess!" He grinned.

"Felicity Rose!"

At first, I thought it was me getting in trouble. But the look on the Professor's face told me that it was nothing to worry about.

Then I realized that I was probably suppose to get up and get my slip.

Almost tripping over my own feet, I walked past the podium and got my slip from the Professor. As I started to leave, and people in the audience started clapping, he said into my ear, "See me after this."

What could he want?

After the long ceremony, it had been much longer than I thought it would be, I walked up to the Professor. "Yes? You wanted to talk to me?"

Logan was walking over to us as well. Apparently he had asked him to join the conversation. As soon as Logan was at my side, he slid a hand over mine, pulling me into his side. He didn't ever make big displays of affection, but he always did smaller ones. It was adorable.

The Professor looked between us, smiling. "Ah, that's a good sign,"

"Good sign of what?" Logan raised a questioning eyebrow. It was a question on my mind as well, but I knew better than to voice it just yet.

He chuckled. "It's nothing bad. We have two new students arriving soon, and we are short of rooms. Because you two usually... Spend the night in one another's room, I have come up with a small solution for this."

I knew full well where he was going, but I didn't comment just yet. I knew Logan would eventaully.

"How would you two feel if you shared a room?" he asked kindly, smiling up at us. Well, up at Logan. He was my eye level, even in that wheelchair.

Logan looked down at me, raising his eyebrows. He wanted me to speak.

I smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."

The Professor grinned. "Great. The room is an old teacher's room, but it is a suite. I think you two will like it well enough."

"Felicity, come on!" Rogue shouted, waving her hand. Most of the students, to celebrate, were going to the beach. It was June, after all. Even up here in New York, it was getting steamy at eighty-five degrees. "The bus is leaving in two minutes!"

She had earlier loaned me her old swimsuit. It was a tankini, covering most of my stomach and my thighs. I was grateful she had one for me, even if it was a tad bit bigger.

Logan looked over at me with a small smile. He was carrying a duffle-like bag, probably filled with his suit and stuff. "Let's go, Princess."

I walked at his side onto the bus, and he let me go in first. 'Ladies first' is what he said. Even being so old, such a gentleman. Then again, the older people are, the more gentleman-ly they should be. Should being the keyword there.

I got the window seat, and he put our bag in the compartment above our seats before sliding into his seat beside me. Instantly, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "It should be a while before we get there..."

I nodded, leaning my head against his shoulder. "Yeah, I know..."

"You could take a nap... It's been a big day for you.."

Before I could even reply, I was drifting off slowly.

The next thing I knew, somebody was shaking me. "Hey, Princess, we made it... Wake up..."

"Mmmph..." I swatted at his arm, trying to roll over and face the other direction so he wouldn't bother me. It was all just an act. And he knew it.

"Oh?" I could almost just picture him in my mind raising an eyebrow. "I guess I'll just have to go swimming... Alone..."

I opened one eye. "Or you could sleep with me..."

He winked. "We've done that every night this week, Princess."

My cheeks heated up. He always just had to say things like that to make me... Blush. Probably because he liked seeing me flustered. But I can never make him do anything cute like that.

I sat up in my seat, stretching my back a little bit. It popped near the top, sort of close to my neck and shoulders.

He frowned. "Sore?"

I shook my head. "Not really... Just sleeping like that makes my body hate me."

"Ah..." He took my hand and led me out of the bus, the duffle bag on his shoulder. I took off the swimsuit cover and tossed it into the sand, near the area he had blocked off for us.

With a stick. A line in the sand.

"You know, if the tide comes in, then the privacy line will be gone," I snickered.

He acted dramatic, "But the tide won't come through the privacy line! That's private!"

I laughed as I watched him glare into the ocean playfully, before he looked over at me and finally noticed that I had taken the swimsuit cover off. He scooped me up in his arms, grinning. "That's my girl."

"Always your girl," I smiled, kissing his cheek.

The next thing I knew, he was running me into the water. The only comforting thing about it was that I was in his arms still, and he could save me. Probably.

He gently set me down. The water only made it to my knees, which meant it wasn't very high at all yet. Or deep. Whatever people like to call it.

"Now, this is different from the pool back at the mansion," he explained to me as he took both of my hands in his. "If you go too far out, then the riptides could pull you in. Be careful."

I smiled, pausing for a moment before I let a wave of water come from my hand into his face. He shot me a playful grin. Before I knew it, we were in a full-fledged water fight.

A fake fight, of course.


	18. Chapter 18

After the whole graduation party at the beach, and after the half hour long firework show courtesy of the drunkards drinking at the beach, they started loading up the bus. I was feeling very tired, so Logan ended up carrying me onto the bus.

The thing I didn't understand was why he carried me so much. I understand he's protective, but that doesn't mean I'm some doll. Just for looks. My looks aren't too grand. And I'm not that clumsy of a walker, so I just don't get it.

But that's just me, I guess.

That night, though, after we got back... That was quite a lot of fun..

Early the next morning, the Professor told me that I was starting my student teaching sessions. My first one was with Scott, in a Danger Room session. It was with the younger kids, eleven or so years old to thirteen. I didn't know them so well, but it would be a good experience.

After Logan left to run some errands for the Professor, I got dressed in thin clothing that could easily go under the X-Men uniform you wear in Danger Room sessions. A pair of athletic shorts, tank top that I knew Logan would hate me wearing around the students, and tennis shoes.

I was met in the hallway by Storm.

"Logan told me to walk you to the session," she told me, one hand on her hip. She had a flower petal in her hair, which was a bit odd, but I just let that blow off my shoulder. "Because he's out."

Of course he would have somebody lead me to the session. "Oh, yeah. He must have forgotten to tell me." He probably didn't, but I didn't hold it against him. He was a wonderful man to me, and all of this just proves it.

Storm walked me all the way downstairs, where she silently left me to the bathroom to get dressed. It took me a few minutes to get in the X-Men suit, leather is not very forgiving, but I got it on and walked out, where all the students were waiting with Scott.

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Take you that long to change?" It was like he wanted to make fun of me, but he knew he couldn't. Logan would have his ass.

A few of the students behind him snickered. Boys. The girls in the class, only four of them with the six ish boys, all stayed silent.

Fingers snapped. I had to turn in order to realize it had been Scott.

"Come on. Ladies first!"

I, along with the four girls, walked in as he punched in the settings. The danger room slowly transformed into a desert.

The starting temperature was seventy-three degrees. Every minute that passed, the temperature went up one degree. It wasn't hard at all to figure out that little tidbit, though I was the only one besides Scott that knew it. The kids didn't catch on for a bit.

It wasn't so much a defensive exercise, but more so an endurance one. One that tested the newer students. Because this school focuses on high school students, but does have a few elementary and middle school kids, they all need different exercises. Until you reach age fifteen, you can't do offensive exercises in danger room.

A little dark haired girl with bright green eyes looked up at me. Truthfully, she looked scared. "You're Felicity...?"

I nodded, with a small smile. "Yeah, that's-"

"Felicity! C'mere!" Scott barked over at me, the group of boys all around him.

Sighing softly, I made my way over to him. He put a hand on my shoulder. It made me want to back away, but I didn't.

He gave me an odd look. "Professor Rose."

My head almost instantly tilted. What the h- excuse that. Bad thought. "What?"

"They call you Professor Rose."

"Why not just Professor Felicity?" I asked, crossing my arms. We were just wasting time here. The temperature was rising. So was my blood pressure. "They just call you Sco-"

"No, that's just you." His tone was flat, a bit aggravating. "You weren't suppose to call me that-"

I shook my head. "Whatever. They can call me what they want to, now we have to finish this session."

Long story short, it was not a very pleasant session. Sweat beaded on my forehead and neck, and I could tell the other students were feeling the same. We had to climb a mountain and reach a certain pass in order to finish this danger session.

Halfway up the desert mountain, I didn't even know that was a thing but whatever, I looked down at my watch. It was eleven thirty in the morning. And it was ninety-three degrees.

I called out, "Ninety-three! Come on, let's keep moving, it'll only get harder from here!"

A few of the boys gave me weird looks before turning back to face the mountain. It was just what it was. A light tan sandy mountain of death. Maybe not the death part so much.

"It's so hot," a boy complained, running his fingers through his hair as a few drops of sweat reached his shirt. His face looked red, the rest of his body almost white. He was a ginger.

"That's the point, James," Scott said loudly, brushing past a large boulder. "Anybody need a break?"

Almost all of the girls raised their hands.

Scott sighed softly. "Great... Men?"

Internally snickering, those guys were not men, I watched as all of the boys helped the girls up the rest of the rock. Scott turned around and began to walk backwards, speaking.

"I've been watching all of you, and I think you all passed fairly well. Obviously, some people had better endurance than others, but that won't be too many points taken o-"

All I could remember after that was an intense burning sensation.


	19. Chapter 19

Even with my eyes shut, I could feel a beam of light hit them. It was intense, enough to make me flinch, my eyes shutting as tight as they could.

A light hum. "Come on... Wake up..."

"Hmmph..." was all I could muster as something prodded my shoulder. It was sharp, pokey. Like a- "-ey... Whu-"

A hand covered my mouth. "Don't make this harder than it is, Felicity." It took me a few moments to realize who it was. Storm. I couldn't mistake her voice, anytime or anywhere. I felt a slight pressure wrap around my hands.

Forcing my eyes to open, I looked at her. My vision was blurry, and my eyes felt sore. "What are... Are ya doin'...?" Come on, mouth, talk normally. Dang it. I swear, I do not have an accent at all. I think...

Storm sighed softly, I could feel her breath. "It's gause... Scott got you burned pretty bad... You're lucky it was only a burn, and not a total loss of your limbs."

"Multiple...?"

"You could have lost your hands, but you didn't. I think it had to do with your power. That's what the Professor told me, anyway, and I believe him."

Scott burnt me- so that must be why my hands sting. "What a'e ya puttin' on mah.. mah handss...?"

A hand gently patted my shoulder. At least that didn't really hurt. "It's ointment. A special kind, because your mutation might not accept something non-organic."

That made at least a little sense in my mind. My body doesn't love to have complete man-made items in my system, and that's cool with me. Foods are sometimes alright, though, just not a full diet of non-organic crap. "Ohh..."

The next thing I knew, a door slid open behind me. A growling man walked inside, and I could tell his eyes were on me.

"What the hell?!" It was the voice of Logan. Not surprising.

I raised my good hand, the one that hadn't been burnt badly, and gently set it on top of his forearm. "Hey, I'm fine-"

He grumbled. "He burnt you! The bastard!" His eyes traveled all over my body. It made me flush to realize that I was half-naked. Sure, he had seen me in the bedroom that way, but this was ... It was different. He could actually see me. The lights were on. At least I had the sports bra and good underwear.

Storm gave him a look of warning. "For the record, he feels terrible about it."

Logan threw his hands up furiously. "It doesn't matter! Dammit, he hurt her! And he didn't even say that he was sorry or anything!"

All of the yelling began to ebb at my eardrums, causing a slight sore sensation. Using my one good hand, my left hand, I covered the ear closest to him. After a minute, he noticed that I was covering my ear.

Instantly, his look softened. He leaned down and gently placed a kiss on my forehead, hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Princess... Just... He hurt you... I promised that I would always protect you..."

I nuzzled him gently, all I could muster. "It's fine. I understand, love." All it took for him to smile was that one word. Love. His special, completely unoriginal but still, nickname.

I loved that smile of his.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Maybe I don't like surprises."

"Then this might suck for you."

"You're so compassionate."

He shot me a playful grin. "Always, Princess!"

Logan was, for once, being a sneaky man. He managed to cut my classes short that day, instead taking me outside and into the garden. It was larger than a lot of people knew.

You could truthfully get lost in that garden. The front held a fair amount of flower beds, but the further back you went, there were shrubs and maze like hedges that you could easily lose your way. Much taller than even the average man. And Logan, in fact.

The chirping of birds was the only sound I heard as he led me along. It was hot, almost noon, and the sun was still coming up to the top of the sky. We had slight shadows, and Logan kept trying to make his look like a butterfly with his hands.

I laughed, folding my hands together. "Hey, it should be like this." I twisted my thumbs together, pressing the lengths of my other fingers together. "See? That could be a butterfly or a bird."

"... Yeah, birds sound more manly than butterflies," he chuckled. After studying my fingers, he tried his best to mimic it with his own hands. It was a good try. But a bad failure.

I snorted, "Maybe you shouldn't-"

"Hey, that looks like a-"

"Nope! We aren't going there today!" I laughed, putting my hands quickly over his and taking one hand to hold. He snickered quietly as he leaned down to kiss my cheek.

As we walked further into the maze-like hedges, I got a bit nervous. Getting lost was one of my worst fears, up there with meeting lots of new people and being in unknown places alone. At least now, I wasn't alone.

Logan swung our arms gently. My right hand was still sore, and wrapped, so he was stuck holding my left hand. I deeply preferred my right for him to hold, but I'd rather not have my hand be sore for a longer time.

Soon enough, we walked up to a gazebo in the middle of a clearing. I had no idea that there were even clearings in the mansion grounds.

The gazebo itself took a bit longer to reach, but when we finally got there, I couldn't help a small gasp.

The floor of the rather large place was covered in pink, white, and red colored rose petals. An older love song was playing in the background, though I couldn't see any speakers.

Logan smiled down at me, holding out a hand. "May I have this dance?"

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know he was planning something. I took his hand, slightly wary of what he had planned. He swept me off in the gazebo, dancing to the music.

'You know our love was meant to be

The kind of love that lasts forever

And I want you here with me

From tonight, until the end of time

You should know, everywhere I go

Your always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul

Baby, you're the meaning in my life

You're the inspiration

You bring feeling to my life

You're the inspiration

Wanna have you near me

I wanna have you hear me sayin'

No one needs you more than I need you

And I know, yes, I know that it's plain to see

We're so in love when we're together

Now I know that I need you here with me

From tonight, until the end of time

You should know, everywhere I go

Your always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul

You're the meaning in my life

You're the inspiration

You bring feeling to my life

You're the inspiration

Wanna have you near me

I wanna have you hear me sayin'

"No one needs you more than I need you"

Oh, ooh

Wanna have you near me

I wanna have you hear me sayin'

No one needs you more than I need you

You're the meaning in my life

You're the inspiration

You bring feeling to my life

You're the inspiration

When you love somebody

Till the end of time

When you love somebody

Always on my mind

No one needs you more than I

When you love somebody

Till the end of time

When you love somebody

Always on my mind'

Our eyes were on each other the entire time. His eyes always looked lovingly down into mine, making me feel weak in the knees.

When the song stopped, I did feel a bit disappointed. I wanted to dance with him some more, dance the night away. I never knew I could love dancing with somebody so much. It was like a drug. Only a little, and all I wanted was more.

Logan kissed my temple gently, leading me to the edge of the gazebo where the sun was completely blocked. He let go of my hand, very slowly getting down on one knee.

My heart felt like it skipped a beat. Oh my Lord. He's...

"It's been... A short time that we've been together," he started, sounding a bit nervous. "But I know that you're the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with."

It felt like my heart was beating out of my chest.

"You mean everything to me. I can't imagine my life without you. You've healed all my scars, chipped away at my old heart. You've healed the wounds of my heart, even if you never realized you have. What I'm trying to get to... Felicity Rose? Will you marry me?"

A tear slipped down my cheek. I didn't even know I was crying. I couldn't even think. "Logan... Yes! Of course I'll marry you!"


	20. Chapter 20

Beast looked over the crowd, which was actually larger than he thought it would be. All of the folding chairs were filled, and some people even spilled out at the sides and had to stand. He internally chuckled. 'Of course...' It would be a very happy day.

Beside him, Logan stood in a suit that lacked any tie or bow-tie. It had been Felicity's choosing, Beast had heard, because it somehow showed that Logan was different. All the little things in their ceremony were different slightly, but it made Beast smile. Different, just like the couple.

He looked over through the crowd and gave a silent nod to the student at the piano. The student, a female with long black hair, nodded back and began to play the wedding march.

Logan shifted slightly, leaning on his tip toes. Beast chuckled, "See her yet?"

"No," he answered quickly, looking further, or at least attempting to.

Beast couldn't help another small chuckle. "She comes out last, boy."

He gave him a warning look.

The bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girl, and ringbearer all came along. Logan was starting to look impatient, not wanting to wait another second longer for his girl. His to-be wife.

After minutes of long waiting, she finally began to walk down the isle. His eyes widened.

Felicity was wearing a gorgeous dress, one that complimented her thin figure at the top while making her look like she had at least a little bust, as well as ruffled bottom that resembled a Disney princess. Her hair was up in a thick, even wavy French braid, with flowers stuck in it here and there. If you looked closely, her nails were painted with a French tip, courtesy of Kitty and Rogue.

Logan could feel his throat catching, tears in his eyes. He couldn't believe he was so lucky. So incredibly lucky.

As she walked down the isle, she looked a bit shy. She knew almost everybody, yet still felt sheepish that they all came here to see her. Her and Logan on the greatest day of their lives.

When she finally made it to the altar, she looked over at Logan.

He whispered, bending down slightly, "You look so beautiful, Felicity..."

Felicity snuck a kiss on his cheek, smiling.

"We are gathered here today..." Beast started, attempting his best to sound professional. It was easier for him than most, at least.

Finally, he said, "Logan, do you take Felicity to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

Logan nodded surely. "I do."

"And Felicity, to you take Logan to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

Smiling, she replied, "I do."

Beast grinned. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Logan, you may appropriately kiss your bride."

Logan wrapped his arms around Felicity, dipping her as she received the most passionate kiss she could ever remember getting from him. A tear slipped from Logan's eye to Felicity's cheek.

She tilted her head up at him as the kiss subsided. "You alright...?"

"I'm so lucky to have you, Felicity..." he whispered.

She kissed him gently. "And I you. I promise, I'll never let you go."

He wrapped her in a tight hug as everybody around them clapped.

The official start of their life together.


	21. Extra!

Extra little chappie for you guys! Just so you know, this story has been finished for quite a while. Like.. Months. I just forgot to upload the chapters. Here's a oneshot of Christmas for you guys!

The white object slowly fell apart.

"Shoot, there goes another one!" she groaned, tossing it across the table. The German Shepherd pup happily jumped up and licked it, then chewed it up.

Rogue looked over at her, then silently continued to string popcorn, snickering to herself.

Logan laughed. "You sure you-"

Felicity shook her head. "I got it, I got it, don't worry." She looked fully determined to string as much popcorn on the thread as she possibly could. So far, she had a full four inches of string filled with popcorn, whereas Rogue and Kitty had well over a foot each.

If Delilah wasn't right below her, then she might have been able to get another inch of popcorn on that damn string.

"Do you want me to pop some more, or are you good with what you have?"

Felicity paused for a few seconds. "... Yeah, you can pop some more. I'm going to take a break." She sighed and got up. It made her a little angry at herself that Delilah had eaten more broken popcorn pieces than there were pieces of full popcorn on the string.

He raised an eyebrow. "You alright?" he asked, pouring some popcorn kernels into a pan with no butter. It would be a waste, in his eyes, to put butter and salt on popcorn that wasn't meant for eating anyway. "You seem-"

"Frustrated? Oh yeah, definitely." She rubbed the palms of her hands against her jeans.

"What's wrong?"

Felicity threw her hands up aimlessly. "I can't even put a needle through the soft part of popcorn without it breaking! I've gotten a good one percent of what I need in order for it to make the tree look good."

He sighed softly and wrapped an arm around her small waist, pulling her close. "Hey now, don't act like that. Anger doesn't look good on you."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not angry, I'm just..."

"Angry?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. Her arms didn't wrap around him like she usually did, even when she was upset.

He kissed her temple gently. "What do you want?"

Felicity looked up at him carefully. "I want to be able to easily string popcorn... Can you make that happen?"

"No, but you can. Popcorn kernels are organic. Don't you know?"

She almost slapped herself on the forehead. How come she hadn't thought of that? "... Sometimes, I wonder if I'm actually a teacher."

Logan grinned brightly. "Sexy teacher. Sometimes forgetful, though."

Delilah barked loudly.

A good half hour later, Felicity had successfully strung five feet of popcorn on a thread without breaking more than fifteen pieces. She looked very proud of herself, and Logan looked even more proud. She was in a much better mood.

"That's some pretty good looking popcorn," he commented, taking out some cocoa powder from the tallest cupboard.

She pouted. "That's where you put the cocoa? No wonder I could never find it!"

He winked. "I had to put it somewhere you couldn't reach. How about we do the cookies, then make the fudge as the cookies bake?"

"Just as long as you don't forget about the cookies when we're making the fudge."

Logan laughed again, running a hand through his hair to spike it up again. "Fine, fine."

Felicity took out a large bowl from the fridge. It was heaping full of cookie dough, over fifteen pounds of the dough. "You sure we made enough?"

"I'm sure." He gave her a big double thumbs up.

"Call the other kids in then, Rogue," Felicity told the girl. "Please," she added after a few seconds, almost forgetting to.

Rogue walked out of the room, then her yells rang through the large mansion. Just seconds later, Felicity heard footsteps running from all corners of the mansion. Lighter footsteps, heavier footsteps, and she even heard the near silent sound of a wheelchair rolling.

Soon enough, the room was filled with over thirty people. Students and teachers alike.

Felicity smiled as she watched the table fill with students, some of the teachers were standing, and then the Professor was also sitting on the end near Ororo and Scott. Everybody was dressed in comfy clothing, and their tops were all something Christmas-y. Christmas sweaters, a few of the younger girls had matching bows in their hair. Even some of the boys had red and green glitter in their hair.

Kitty laughed, whispering to Felicity, "Like the glitter?"

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah. Was that you?"

The younger girl nodded with a grin. "They have no clue."

Felicity internally imagined Logan with red and green glitter in his hair. She had to admit, that wasn't such a bad idea. He would look good in almost anything. At least, to her he would.

Logan looked over at Felicity and silently shook his head, though it didn't hide that trace of a smile on his lips.

The big bowl of dough was passed around to everybody. They were all allowed a small ball of dough, and if they wanted to have more, they were paired up with someone else. That way, they could combine the dough and make double the amount of cookies. Either way, they'd make the same amount of cookies, but some of the kids didn't realize that.

Even the Professor had a small ball of dough, though Felicity saw him secretly take more than the other kids. She just didn't say anything about it, internally snickering.

Next, the bag of cookie cutters were passed around. For each section of the table, there were five people. Those five people were allowed five cookie cutters. A bell, a star, a Christmas tree, a Santa Claus, and a reindeer. It was more organized than it really needed to be.

"Only five? How many cookie cutters do we have?" one of the younger boys complained, crossing his arms.

Felicity looked at Logan for help, but he held up his hands. Kids weren't his thing. She sighed and looked back down at the boy. "We have five cookie cutters for each section. That's it."

He threw his hands up. "That's it?"

"That's it. If you want to make cookies, that's all you get. Five, or nothing."

The boy seemed to consider this for a few seconds, then he groaned loudly. "Fine! Five cutters!"

She internally smiled. 'One catastrophe averted,' she told herself.

Minutes later, she looked across the table. Everybody was happily rolling out the cookie dough with the rollers, and cutting into the dough. There was flour flying every which way, all the Christmas sweaters looking full of snow, and the air was foggy, but nobody seemed to mind. Just to add to everything, Felicity turned on some happy Christmas music on her favorite station.

Nobody was in a foul mood. Everyone seemed to be so happy. Especially the little German Shepherd, Delilah, secretly stealing unbaked cookies from the pile Kitty was making under the table.


End file.
